The Kids From The Isle
by CarVie16
Summary: Part 1 of "Forever Wicked". Ben helps Mal adjust to being Lady of the Court. Evie juggles her friendship with Dizzy and her relationship with Doug. Jay asks Lonnie out on a date. Carlos tries to find the perfect anniversary gift for Jane. (Takes place after Descendants 2)
1. Mal: Lady of the Court, Part 1

**I was originally planning to write a "good vs. evil" story, but I changed my mind and decided explore some stuff from Descendants 2, like Mal becoming a Lady of the Court, Evie's friendship with Dizzy, Carlos' relationship with Jane, and Jay naming Lonnie the new captain of the R.O.A.R. team. I thought a simple story about love and friendship would be a better way to start this series before we get to the really intense stuff. Enjoy.**

 **Ships for this fic include Bal (BenxMal), Devie (DougxEvie), Jonnie (JayxLonnie), and Janlos (JanexCarlos). Bear in mind, the latter three ships are a challenge for me, so forgive me if the romantic content is lacking what you were expecting. I'll still try my best, though. I hope.**

 **Leave a review after reading, please. I always appreciate feedback. (Just please don't say "Update please" because it feels pushy)**

 **I'd like to thank the following users for reviewing the prologue ("You and Me"): Menace, potput, gaaaat**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Descendants.**

Mal and her friends - Evie, Jay, and Carlos - all stood around a large cauldron in a dark room. Evie drops an apple into the cauldron and started mixing. Mal opens her spell book and cited an incantation for an evil spell.

"Wicked ways beneath the skin, let all who taste it now join in."

Mal lets out an evil laugh as Jay and Carlos dumped the rest of the apples into the cauldron.

 **Mal/Evie/Jay/Carlos**

 _We got all the ways to be  
_ _W-I-C-K-E-D  
_ _We got all the ways to be  
W-I-C-K-E-D_

Mal and Carlos head to the lockers outside. Carlos shows up with a bucket full of apples and dumps every single one of them all over the floor. The kids quickly dive on the floor to grab an apple, eager to take a bite. Mal closes all the open lockers, all of them spray-painted by her own hand, spelling "Long Live Evil!"

 **Mal**

 _Crashing the party_  
 _Guess they lost my invitation_  
 _Friendly reminder_  
 _Got my own kind of persuasion_

Mal feeds Jane an apple, turning her wicked. Jane steals Mal's spray paint bottle and heads off somewhere else to use it. Carlos slides the bucket towards the line of Auradon kids still lying on their stomachs, making them jump over it.

 **Carlos**

 _Looks like this place could use  
_ _A bit of misbehavior  
_ _Happily ever after  
_ _With a little flavor_

Carlos leans back by the lockers and dances backwards. He approaches Mal, slams the locker behind her, and then smoothly puts his arm around her, taking her away with him.

Jay, meanwhile, was on the other side of the school, throwing and kicking apples at the school band.

 **Jay**

 _Bad to the bone_  
 _With even worse intentions_  
 _We're gonna steal the show_  
 _And leave 'em all defenseless_

Jay throws another apple. It hits Doug's trumpet, clogging it. The vibration from the impact caused Doug to shake and stop. He pulls the apple out of his instrument and takes a bite, turning wicked along with his band, whom have eaten the apples thrown and kicked at them.

In Fairy God Mother's classroom, Evie was handing out apples to her fellow students, including Chad. She places one of the headmistress' lectern. Fairy God Mother takes a bite of the apple and succumbs to its evil spell, just like the rest.

 **Evie**

 _A fairy tale life can be_  
 _Oh, so overrated_  
 _So raise your voices_  
 _And let's get it activated_

Fairy God Mother and her students started going crazy with Evie, tossing papers in the air and dancing like they're in a wild party. Mal watched the chaos from above, munching on an apple. Carlos stayed at the lockers to mess around with the brainwashed students.

 **Mal/Evie/Jay/Carlos**

 _Long live havin' some fun_  
 _We take what we want_  
 _There's so many ways to be wicked_  
 _With us, evil lives on the right side of wrong_  
 _There's so many ways to be wicked_

 _Apple, apple_  
 _Dip, dip_  
 _Wanna try it?_  
 _Tick, tick_  
 _Take a bite_  
 _Come on, be bold_  
 _Change the way the story's told_

Mal and Evie are serving poisoned candy apples to all the students, including Lonnie.

 **Mal**

 _This time the dark is_  
 _Finally getting your attention_

 **Evie**

 _We're wicked by the book_  
 _And class is back in session_

Jane and her fellow brainwashed cheerleaders danced and cheered all around Jay.

 **Jay**

 _You like it, steal it_  
 _Gotta beat 'em to the treasure_

Carlos juggles three apples and tosses two of them to Belle and Beast. They take a bite and fall victim to its poison.

 **Carlos**

 _A rite of passage_

 **Mal/Evie/Jay/Carlos**

 _Bad just doesn't get much better  
_

 _Long live havin' some fun  
We take what we want  
There's so many ways to be wicked_

Mal brings down the flag of Auradon and switches it with a flag she made herself. It had her signature "Long Live Evil" painting on it.

 **Mal**

 _Mother always knows best_

 **Evie**

 _Show her, pass every test_

 **Carlos**

 _Hear her voice in my head_

 **Jay**

 _Evil is the only..._

 **Mal/Evie/Jay/Carlos**

 _Real way to win_

All of the brainwashed students and staff of Auradon Prep go outside to the school lawn, joining Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos.

 **All**

 _We got all the ways to be_  
 _(Hey, hey, hey, hey)_  
 _W-I-C-K-E-D_

 **Jay**

 _Let's go!_

 **All**

 _We got all the ways to be_  
 _(Hey, hey, hey, hey)_  
 _W-I-C-K-E-D_

 **Mal**

 _Yeah_

Chad and some students play apple bobbing at the fountain. Carlos feeds a blonde girl on a wheelchair some apples and carries her outside to join the party.

 **All**

 _Love live havin' some fun_  
 _We take what we want_  
 _There's so many ways to be wicked_  
 _With us, evil lives on the right side of wrong_  
 _There's so many ways to be wicked_

The party was moved to the front of the school. For added fun, Mal spray-paints Beast's statue.

 **All**

 _We got all the ways to be  
W-I-C-K-E-D_  
 _We got all the ways to be  
W-I-C-K-E-D_  
 _We got all the ways to be  
W-I-C-K-E-D_  
 _We got all the ways to be_

 **Mal**

 _So many ways to be wicked_

Mal kisses the apple in her hand and tosses it to Ben. Mal waits eagerly for Ben to take a bite. Suddenly, Evie pokes her on the shoulder, capturing her attention.

"Mal, it's time to wake up," said Evie.

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

Mal's eyes shot wide open.

"Whoa!" Evie cried, startled.

Mal takes several deep breaths, trying to recover from the shock of the rude awakening.

"Good, you're awake," said Evie. "Seriously, Mal, I've been trying to wake you up for the past half hour. You slept through your phone's wake up alarm."

Evie grabs Mal's arm and pulls her out of bed.

"What the hell, Evie?" Mal asked, irritated.

Evie picks up a checklist and shows it to Mal.

"You have an 8:30 meeting with the King and the leaders of Auradon about the current tension between Atlantica and Camelot," said Evie, talking really fast. "Not to mention you're supposed to have breakfast with your boyfriend and his parents at exactly 7:45, and, look at the time, it's 7:32." Evie holds up her phone in front of Mal's face to show her the time. "You have exactly 12 minutes and 34 seconds to bathe, pick a dress, and fix your make-up, so let's hop to it."

"Evie, I don't have to look pretty for everything," said Mal, rubbing her eyes.

"As your best friend and personal assistant, I strongly recommend you to _not_ show up at the breakfast table looking like you just dragged yourself out of a bush," said Evie, gesturing to Mal's messy purple hair and wrinkled clothes.

"Since when are you my assistant?" asked Mal.

"Since always," said Evie. "Now, c'mon. Let's stop wasting time."

Evie grabs Mal's arm again and drags her to the bathroom to start preparing the hot shower.

"E, you know you don't have to be here," said Mal.

"Someone has to make sure that you hurry up," said Evie.

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

After, by Evie's count, five minutes and twenty-five seconds in the shower, Mal is dragged in front of the mirror to put on her dress.

While Evie finds the right dress for Mal and reminds her about her royal duties for the day, Mal looks out the window and thinks about the dream she just had. She can remember the first time she had it. It was three days before the Royal Cotillion and reporters were gathered outside Auradon Prep, snapping pictures of her and asking all sorts of questions.

Ever since the Royal Cotillion, Mal has been having the same dream every night. At first, she thought she was just feeling nostalgic for the times she can run wild and break the rules whenever she wanted, but lately, she's been thinking about it differently. Two images from that dream kept flashing in her head over and over again ever night. The first image was of Carlos when he made a smooth move on her. The second image was the girl on the wheelchair.

It was only her schoolwork, royal duties, and dates with Ben keeping her from wondering even further about what they mean. But now, she was nearing the point where she desperately needs to know why she keeps having the same dream, as well as why the aforementioned two parts of her dream keep popping up in her head. Could the dream be more than just a dream? Is it a vision? Are there messages hidden within the dream?

Before Mal can think any further, she feels Evie pulling her arm again. Evie shows her a short purple dress with a glittery skirt.

"I think this one will do quite nicely," said Evie.

"It's just breakfast, E," said Mal.

"No time to argue. We got exactly 6 minutes and 31 seconds before breakfast begins," said Evie.

"Can't you just simply say, _six and a half minutes_?" asked Mal, annoyed.

"Dress. Now," Evie ordered, giving Mal said dress.

"You know I can fire you, right?" Mal said.

"But I know you won't," Evie smiled.

* * *

After getting into the dress, Mal sits through, by her friend's count, one minute and forty-five seconds of make-up. It was grueling for Mal because Evie was being both gentle and fast. The rapid powdering of her face made her sneeze. Once she was pampered up nicely, Evie shoves her out the door. Mal was seriously consider firing her as her assistant if she's always going to behave like this.

Mal takes her brand new scooter, which she had retrieved from the Isle of the Lost when Dizzy Tremaine was being invited to Auradon, to Beast Castle. She would've ran to the dining room, but since she was wearing the six-inch heels that Evie made her wear, she had to race walk instead. She almost lost balance a couple times, but she remained on her feet. She arrives at the door leading to the dining room. She opens it quickly, only to hit someone by accident.

Mal looks at the other side of the door and sees Lumiere lying on his back. Belle quickly stands up and helps her friend back up.

"I am so sorry, Lumiere," Mal apologized. "I didn't know you were standing there."

"It's okay, mademoiselle," said Lumiere, his hand on his bruised forehead. "Accidents happen, especially in this castle. You should've seen what happened on King Ben's 6th birthday party."

The Beast family smiled at the memory.

"I remember. Chip accidentally caused the six-story cake to topple over us," said Belle, laughing.

"I swear, Dad was about to go all Beast on him," said Ben. "Good thing mom was there to calm him down."

Belle walks over to her husband and gives him a kiss on the cheek. It always made Ben smile to see how strong the love was between his parents.

"So, uh, am I late?" asked Mal.

"Not at all, Mal," said Beast. "Please, sit down."

"Thank you, sir," said Mal. Lumiere pulled back a chair next to Ben for her to sit down on.

"Only the people call me sir, young lady. You're part of the family now. You can call me Adam," said Beast.

"Well, if you wish, Adam," said Mal politely. "Can I still call you Adam when I become your daughter?"

"Um, we'll discuss that another time," said Beast.

"You look lovely, Mal," said Belle.

"Indeed, she does," Ben agreed, kissing Mal's hand. "But I thought you were done trying to be royally perfect."

"The dress and the shoes were recommended by my personal _assistant_ , Evie," said Mal with sarcasm.

"I suppose a Lady of the Court could use one," said Beast.

Mal rolls her eyes at the former king's comment. The chefs enter the room and serve Mal a bowl of soup, along with strawberries and the grey stuff that Belle loved so much. Mal dips her finger into the grey stuff and tastes it. Her smile tells the Beast family that she loves it.

"Lumiere was right. It _is_ delicious," said Mal.

Belle was gonna tell Mal to use a spoon, but she decided against it, remembering that her son loves Mal for who she really is, horrible table manners and all.

"So, Ben, what's the next meeting all about again?" Mal asked as a she picked up a strawberry and popped it in her mouth.

"Three days ago, Camelot was attacked by a mysterious creature," said Ben.

"Again?" Mal laughed. Realizing the inappropriateness of her tone, she apologizes. "Sorry. It's just that, isn't this the second time in the past two months Camelot has fallen victim to an attack?"

"Apparently," said Ben. "Unfortunately, no one got a clear visual on the creature. All they know is that the creature is large and has tentacles."

"Sounds like a giant octopus," said Mal.

"King Arthur believes this is retaliation after he denied a trade request with King Neptune," said Ben. "King Neptune claims he never ordered an attack on Arthur's kingdom, but some of the villagers from Camelot reported sightings of warriors wearing Atlantica's armory. Twenty-four hours ago, King Arthur arrived in Atlantica unannounced to speak with King Triton. Let's just say that meeting didn't end so well."

"They're about to go to war," Mal guessed. "I'm guessing that's where you and I come in."

"The meeting is about finding a way to resolve the conflict before war breaks out," said Ben.

"Who'll be there with us?" asked Mal.

"Aladdin and Jasmine. Cinderella and King Charming. Princess Ariel and Prince Eric. Queen Leah and King Stefan," answered Ben.

"Ugh," Mal groaned, leaning back on her chair with displeasure. "Why does it have to be Queen Leah? Why couldn't Auroria send Sleeping Beauty and Prince Philip instead?"

"They have a meeting with Queen Elsa in Arendelle, so I'm afraid they can't be here," said Ben. "Don't worry, Mal. I'm sure Queen Leah will warm up to you."

"It's not just her I'm worried about," said Mal. "You're asking me, the daughter of Maleficent, to attend a meeting that's about ending conflict. I think we both know I'm more of an expert on starting conflict."

Ben gently hold Mal's hand with both his own and smiles at her. "You don't have to worry. I'll be right there by your side. I know you can do this."

"Got any tips?" Mal asked, still feeling nervous about the meeting.

"No," said Ben. "You want to be your own Lady, right? I'm not gonna ask you to be the perfect princess you didn't want to be. Just sit down, listen, evaluate the situation, and use that brilliant mind of yours to come up with your own solution."

Mal smiled. "You really love me for me, don't you?"

"It's the reason why the stained glass portrait of us shows you for who you really are," said Ben.

"You're really cute when you try to cheer me up," said Mal.

Mal leans in closer and plants a kiss on Ben's cheek. Belle and Beast smiles grew wider at the sight.

* * *

Later that morning, Ben meets with the leaders of Auradon in Beast Castle's conference room. Mal was three minutes late because she was asked by Evie to return to her dorm to change her dress. Mal insisted she wears the post-dragon-transformation dress she wore in the Royal Cotillion to get away from her _assistant_ as soon as possible.

Mal sits down next to Ben and greets everyone, especially Queen Leah, with politeness. The meeting begins as Ben brings up the topic of discussion, which is the possible war that will occur between Camelot and Atlantica. The first fifteen minutes were full of recapping the events that led to the tension. Afterwards, they move on to proposed solutions to cease the conflict.

"My father keeps refusing to negotiate," said Ariel.

"He said, and I quote, _King Arthur is not to step foot on my bay unless I say he can_ ," said Eric.

"We talked to Arthur and he, too, refuses to go through with negotiation," said Cinderella.

"What if we tell them that I will be present for the negotiation?" asked Ben.

"That's what I said to Arthur. He still refuses," said Charming.

"Stubborn, he is, just like Triton," King Stefan commented.

"I assume Triton also won't allow the King's involvement to change his mind," Jasmine guessed.

"You assume correctly," said Ariel.

"If we don't find a way to get those two to make nice soon, the first war in the history of Auradon will begin," said Aladdin.

"Understood," said Queen Leah. "Lady Mal, what do you..."

Queen Leah paused when she laid her eyes on the purple-haired sorceress. She was asleep. Her eyes are closed, her head was resting on her crossed arms, and she was snoring.

"Uh, Mal, the meeting's still going on," said Ben, gently shaking Mal to wake her up.

Mal wiggled and moaned, but she didn't wake up. Ben shakes her again, but all she did was moan again. She started singing in her sleep for some reason.

"Crashing the party... lost my invitation," Mal mumbled, eyes still closed.

"Uh, she's probably just tired from sleeping late last night," said Ben, trying to justify Mal's sudden slumber.

"Happily ever after... with a little flavor," Mal continued to sing.

"Mal!" Ben whisper-shouted.

Mal finally wakes up. She rubs her eyes as she yawns. When she opened her eyes, she was met with confused glances and a disappointed Queen Leah.

"King Ben, has Lady Mal here been tutored on the manners of a royal meeting?" asked Queen Leah.

"No, but she did use to read books on how to behave perfectly like royalty," said Ben.

"Use to?" Queen Leah asked.

"I apologize for my behavior," said Mal. "This is my first meeting, after all."

"When did we lose you?" asked Jasmine.

"Uh, at the first mention of the word _negotiation_ ," said Mal with a bashful grin on her face.

"Must we recap all that we've discussed for Lady Mal?" asked Cinderella.

"A short recap would be nice," said Mal.

"To put it simply, both Triton and Arthur refuse to negotiate," said King Stefan.

"What do you propose is the right course of action?" Charming asked Mal.

"I say we let them fight it out," said Mal casually.

Everyone was stunned by Mal's response. Ben was putting on a fake smile to hide his embarrassment.

"I'm just kidding," said Mal, laughing.

"This is no joke, Lady Mal," said Queen Leah. "Camelot and Atlantica will wage war on each other and people will get hurt or worse."

"I understand the seriousness of this situation," said Mal.

"Then act like you do," said Queen Leah, losing her patience with the daughter of Maleficent.

"Dear, please, calm down," King Stefan pleaded to his wife, holding her hand.

Ben clears his throat before speaking. "Lady Mal, I have to repeat King Charming's question to you. What do you propose is the right course of action?"

Mal taps her fingers on the table in tune with the song from her dream as she thinks. She twitches her lips and takes deep breaths as she tries to come up with the best possible solution to the problem.

"I say negotiation is the best course of action," said Mal.

"But if Arthur and my father won't try it in spite of King Ben's orders, how can we convince them to?" asked Ariel.

"By looking for the missing part of the story," answered Mal.

"What do you mean?" asked Eric.

"I will personally travel to Camelot with King Ben and investigate the damage caused by the attack," said Mal. "Something tells me that the attack is not what everyone believes it is."

"What make you say so?" asked Aladdin.

"I'm not sure, but I can feel it," said Mal. "Let's recap. Atlantica's so-called retaliation included sending a giant octopus on dry land far away from Triton's Bay. I know that in a magical world like Auradon, anything is possible, but this isn't one of them. There is a third player in this game and I intend to find out who or what it is."

"Then consider your request for a trip to Camelot approved," said King Ben.

"Are you certain that is wise, your highness?" Queen Leah questioned.

"I trust her," said Ben.

"In the event I do find something off, I need King Arthur and King Triton to meet at Triton's Bay for a negotiation tomorrow morning," said Mal. "I don't care how hard it's going to be to convince them. This is necessary to prevent a war."

"I'll try," said Ariel.

"So will we all," said Cinderella.

"Meeting adjourned," said Ben.

* * *

After dressing up in their school uniforms, Mal and Ben head to Auradon Prep. On the way, Ben decided to speak to Mal about the meeting. The smile on his face tells Mal that he must be glad about how it went down.

"You did well back there," said Ben.

"I wouldn't say so," said Mal. "I fell asleep, remember. Again, I'm sorry about that, but politics bore the hell out of me."

"It's a start," said Ben. "You used your head, thought of what you thought was the right move, and I'm proud of you for that."

"I try," said Mal.

"Don't try too hard. You'll stress yourself," said Ben.

"Don't you stress yourself all the time?" asked Mal.

"I try not to," said Ben. "My mom taught me some ways to control my Beastly temper."

"She's a good mother," Mal said, feeling a little envious of Ben for having such a loving mother.

"Yeah, she is," Ben agreed.

"Do you really agree with what I said back there?" asked Mal.

"I do believe you have a point," said Ben. "You know the saying. Some things aren't what they seem to be."

"I knew this whole Lady of the Court thing was gonna be hard, but it's proven to be way harder than I thought," said Mal.

"Running a kingdom is never easy," said Ben. "But I have full confidence you can handle it, just as long as you stay true to who you really are."

Mal smiles at Ben again, happy to hear him say those words. She curls her fingers around his and rests her head on his shoulder, glad to have him by her side.

 **I would like to tell all of you to not think too hard about Mal's dream. It's not vital to this story, but it is part of setting up future stories. Mal's side of this story will mostly focus on her adjusting to her position as Lady of the Court. I hope this was more than just a good start to the story. I don't believe in taking it easy when it comes to starting a story. I believe in making your first chapter as exciting as you can.**


	2. Carlos: The Perfect Gift, Part 1

**Wow! I did not expect this many favorites and follows to pile up this fast. Thanks for the support.**

 **I may be a Carvie shipper, but it doesn't mean I don't think that Janlos is a cute couple. Watching Descendants 2 helped me appreciate the dynamic between Carlos and Jane. Like I said, I want this new series to be for everyone. Writing about Carlos being with someone who's not Mal or Evie is a tough challenge for me, but I'm going through with it for your entertainment.**

 **Leave a review after reading, please. Feedback is always appreciated.**

 **I'd like to thank the following users for reviewing the first chapter: Boris Yeltsin, top story, Psyche Castle, Mustang52**

Carlos De Vil is boy who has always been fascinated with technology. Back on the Isle of the Lost, he dreamed of exploring the online world and the many fields of technology. Now that he was in Auradon, he has almost unlimited freedom to explore the internet and invent whatever pops into his brilliant young mind. When he's not passing every subject in Auradon Prep with flying colors, he's mostly seen with his laptop, either looking up on new websites or experimenting with code.

Today, he was doing both at the same time. He was looking up on videos on AuraTube about science and technology while trying to create a program that will allow him to connect his laptop to his television. His canine companion, Dude, sat next to him and watched a show called _Dog with a Blog_ on television.

"Think I can try to write my own blog?" Dude asked.

"No way I'm lettin' you touch my laptop," said Carlos.

"C'mon, man. I wanna be just like Stan," said Dude. "I can talk. All I need now is a blog."

"And what will you blog about? Me scratching your butt?" Carlos asked sarcastically.

"Please," Dude pleaded.

"No," said Carlos.

Dude moaned, disappointed. He then looks at his owner and puts on a cute face, trying to persuade his master into allowing him to write a blog.

"Yeah, that's not gonna work on me," said Carlos.

Dude moaned with disappointment again. He decides to talk about it later and continues watching his favorite show. Carlos continues to work on his program, until he receives an incoming video call. It was from Evie.

Carlos turns to his furry friend. "Dude, can you lower the volume? Someone's calling me."

"I needed to go take a potty anyway," said Dude.

Dude pushes the mute button on the TV before heading to the bathroom to do his "business".

"Use the toilet this time, not the floor!" Carlos yelled. "You make a mess, you're cleaning it up!"

Dude sticks his tail out from the open door and wags at his master. Carlos rolls his eyes as he answers the video call. Evie's face pops on the screen, wearing a smile that can brighten anyone's day.

 _"Hi, Carlos," Evie greeted._

"Hey, Evie," Carlos greeted.

 _"I hate to interrupt you, but I need a favor," said Evie._

"What can I do for you?" asked Carlos.

 _"Remember the water-proof phone you made for me a few months ago? Well, I need you to make one for Dizzy," said Evie._

"She broke another phone, didn't she?" Carlos guessed.

 _"The fourth one in four weeks. First one, by fountain. Second one, by a spilled glass of water. Third one, by a water balloon explosion. Fourth one, by melted ice cream," said Evie. "I love her to pieces, but I can't keep buying a new phone for her every week. Please, Carlos. For me? I'll pay you for your services."_

"I'll do this one favor for you, free of charge," said Carlos.

 _"You're a true friend, Carlos," said Evie with a smile._

Carlos smiles back at her. Evie kept on smiling, only to slowly drop her smile every second Carlos looks at her strangely without saying a word.

 _"Uh, why are you staring at me like that?" asked Evie._

"You're still wearing it," said Carlos.

Evie was confused at first, but when she looked at the ring with the heart-shaped ruby on her finger, she realized what he meant. The smile on her face returns as she holds up her hand to give Carlos a good view of the ring.

 _"I told you I'd never take it off," said Evie._

"To think, I had my doubts," said Carlos, feeling like an idiot for doubting that his friend would keep her promise.

 _"The day I take off this ring is the day you and I are no longer friends, and we both know that day will never come," said Evie. "Well, see you later."_

"See ya," said Carlos.

Carlos shuts down his laptop as he heard the sound of a toilet flushing. Dude comes out of the bathroom with toilet paper stuck on his rear left foot.

"Wearing what?" Dude asked.

"Huh?" Carlos didn't understand the question.

"What was she wearing?" Dude asked again.

Carlos realized that Dude was listening the whole time, only he didn't know what the object in question was. He decided it's best not to say anything, just in case he might get the wrong idea about _it_.

* * *

Later that morning, Carlos heads to his locker to pick up his math textbook. He stops for a moment to look at the photo he attached to his locker. It was a selfie he took with Jane during the Royal Cotillion. He smiles, thinking about how lucky of a guy he is to have a girl like her in his life. When he closes his locker, he jumps at the sight of the actual Jane, who was wearing a big smile on her face.

"Sorry if I startled you," Jane apologized.

"That's okay," said Carlos.

Jane takes her hand out from behind her back, revealing a white gift with black spots, tied up with a red bow.

"Happy one-month anniversary, Carlos!" Jane exclaimed.

"Uh, what?" Carlos asked, confused.

"Our one-month anniversary," said Jane. "By my count, it's been exactly 30 days since we first started dating."

Carlos looks back and forth between Jane and the gift she was giving to him, still wearing the confused look on his face. Jane's smile quickly drops upon realization.

"You forgot our anniversary?" Jane asked sadly. "But I've been reminding you about it for the past week."

"You have?" Carlos asked, confused.

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

 _Seven days ago..._

 _Carlos had just finished R.O.A.R. practice, one where he ends up with a dislocated shoulder. Jane quickly rushes down from the stands to take a closer look at him._

 _"Are you okay?" asked Jane._

 _"I'll be fine," said Carlos._

 _"I'm no R.O.A.R. expert, but next time, make sure your sword doesn't hit the floor while your doing a back flip," said Jane._

 _"Noted," said Carlos, grunting due to the pain._

 _Jane gives Carlos a kiss on the cheek, surprising him._

 _"Feeling better?" asked Jane._

 _"Definitely," said Carlos._

 _"Is this gonna get in the way of our anniversary next week?" asked Jane._

 _"No. No, it won't," said Carlos. "I can have a broken arm and I still won't miss it for the world."_

 _Jane smiles and kisses him on the cheek again._

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

 _Three days ago..._

 _Carlos was in the chemistry lab, experimenting on some chemicals. He carefully pours one drop of a yellow chemical into a beaker filled of a red chemical. This results in a puff of red smoke popping out of the beaker. Carlos then picks up a vial filled with a colorless chemical and carefully removes the cork. He slowly tilts it in an attempt to make sure he only applies one drop into the beaker._

 _Suddenly, Jane comes bursting through the door._

 _"Hey, Carlos!" She greeted._

 _Startled, Carlos accidentally pours all the contents of the vial, causing a chemical explosion that blows him back towards the wall. Jane immediately runs towards her boyfriend, hoping that he is okay. Thankfully, he is. He started coughing due to the smoke as he takes off his goggles._

 _"I am so, so, so sorry for that," said Jane._

 _"My molecular structure is still intact, so no harm done," said Carlos. "So, is there any reason for this surprise visit?"_

 _"I wanted to talk to you about where do you want to have our anniversary dinner," said Jane. "I was thinking we can ask Ben if we can have dinner at his castle. And in case he refuses, there's this beautiful field full of beautiful flowers with a nice view of Auradon Prep..."_

 _"Actually, can you take me to the nurse's office first? I think I'm getting a serious case of vertigo from the chemical reaction," said Carlos, feeling woozy._

 _Carlos passes out._

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

 _Yesterday..._

 _Three months ago, Fairy God Mother had asked Carlos to be Jane's tutor because her grades were slipping. With Carlos' help, Jane's grades started to rise and her mother was proud of both her and her boyfriend. Whenever Jane asks for help, Carlos would always drop whatever he's doing to help her._

 _Tonight, he was tutoring her in Mathematics._

 _"So, if 3x + 4y = 26, what is the value for x and y?" Carlos asked, testing Jane._

 _Jane chews her pencil as she thinks hard. After five minutes, she speaks her answers._

 _"The value of x is 6, while the value of y is 2," said Jane._

 _"Correct," said Carlos. "You're getting good at this."_

 _"Only because I have such an excellent and, not to mention, cute tutor," said Jane._

 _Carlos blushed at her compliment. Jane's phone beeped. It her alarm to remind her of curfew._

 _"I better get going," said Jane. "Thanks again. You're a great guy, Carlos."_

 _Jane kisses Carlos on the cheek._

 _"Can't wait to see you tomorrow. I have a very special anniversary gift for you," said Jane. "Hope you have one for me."_

 _Before Jane could leave the dorm, someone opens the door. It was Chad, sneaking in. He was disappointed to see that the room was not empty. Jane was confused, while Carlos looked annoyed._

 _"Hey, guys," Chad greeted. He shows them the headless Chad action figure. "I just wanted to make the complete version."_

 _"Out!" Carlos yelled, pointing out the door._

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

"Oops." Carlos remembered and now felt ashamed of himself.

Jane pouts and walks away, disappointed at her boyfriend for forgetting their first month anniversary. Carlos runs towards her and stops in front of her.

"Jane, wait!" He said. "Look, I'm sorry I forgot. But don't worry. I can make up for it. Just give me until dinner tonight. You will have the greatest gift you've ever gotten, I promise. You can be mad at me tonight. Just, please. Give me this chance."

"I'm not mad, Carlos," said Jane. "I'm just disappointed. I thought what we have is special for you."

"It is," said Carlos. "I'm really sorry, Jane, but this is the first relationship I've been in. Back on the Isle, all the girls would rather punch me than date me."

"Okay, I'll show up at dinner tonight," said Jane. "Just promise me one thing."

"Anything," said Carlos.

"Your gift has to come from your heart, not from the internet," said Jane. "Dude told me once that you looked up on _How to get out of the friend-zone_."

"I am so going to ask Mal for an antidote to that truth gummy," Carlos moaned.

"Don't you like it that Dude can talk now?" asked Jane.

"I don't like it when he says something truthful that affects me," said Carlos. "So, uh, can I have my gift now?"

Jane puts the gift box behind her back.

"You can have it tonight," said Jane. "Just promise me, okay?"

"You won't be disappointed, I promise," said Carlos.

Carlos gives Jane a kiss on the cheek before running off.

* * *

Carlos runs back to his dorm, only to see the door wide open. Carlos sighs with exasperation, knowing who exactly is inside his dorm. Considering that he just saw Jay hanging out with the Tourney team while he was running, there is only one other person who could be inside.

It was Chad, using Carlos' 3-D printer again. He was making what appears to be another Chad action figure. This time, it has a head.

"Chad!" Carlos shouted.

Chad ends up jumping in fright, throwing his action figure up. He struggles to catch it in one hand, so he catches it using both his hands. He turns around and sees a very annoyed Carlos. Carlos holds his hand out. Chad reluctantly gives him the 3-D printed key. Carlos snatches the action figure from Chad's hands and rips its head off, causing Chad to scream in horror.

"Get out or your next," Carlos threatened.

"I waited so long for that," complained Chad.

Carlos pushes Chad out of his dorm, resulting in Chad bumping his face on the wall. Chad turns around only to get hit in the forehead with his action figure and in the nose with the head of said action figure.

Carlos shuts the door and glares at Dude, who is just sitting on his bed, watching TV and playing with a chew toy.

"Chad gave you that, didn't he?" Carlos guessed.

"He's not as big of a jerk as you think, really," said Dude, enjoying his new toy.

Carlos responds to Dude's comment with a face-palm.

 **Will Carlos find the perfect anniversary gift for Jane? Stay tuned and find out.**

 **I hope you think I wrote the Janlos romance pretty well so far. I'm trying really, really hard.**


	3. Jay: First Date, Part 1

**Thanks to Descendants 2, more and more fans are beginning to ship Jay/Lonnie. Personally, I do see potential in the pair, so I thought I'd explore the dynamic between them in my new series.**

 **Leave a review after reading, please.**

 **I'd like to thank the following users for reviewing the previous chapter: top story, Psyche Castle, lady foxzy**

It was time for practice for Auradon Prep's R.O.A.R. team. Lonnie, the new team captain, starts the practice with a few warm-ups. Push-ups. Sit-ups. Stretches. The boys waste no effort in these exercises, especially since Lonnie proves to be the tough kind of captain. She may be nice and sweet, but as the captain of the R.O.A.R. team, she strives to make sure that the boys give it their all. If they don't, she just gives them a hard time.

"Hey, where's Carlos?" asked Chad.

"Oh, the school nurse told me to excuse him from R.O.A.R. practice today," said Lonnie. "Between the shoulder injury he suffered last week and his chemical accident three days ago, the nurse wants him to have plenty of R&R before he picks up the sword again."

"Good thing we don't have a match until three days from now," said Jay.

"Alright, boys! Drop and give me 20," Lonnie ordered. "You have one minute."

The boys immediately get down on their push-up positions. Lonnie starts the timer on her phone.

"C'mon, boys. My brother can do 30 in 1 minute," said Lonnie, trying to motivate the boys to push harder.

At the end, only six out of eight boys managed to reach the number of 20 push-ups. One of the two boys who didn't make is Chad.

"Chad, Tyrone, you two are staying behind after practice to try it again," said Lonnie.

"Don't worry. I can handle anything you throw at me," said Chad confidently.

"What do you say to 40 push-ups in 2 minutes?" asked Lonnie.

Chad now feels a little more terrified about the end of the practice session, and so is the other boy who will be joining him.

"Alright, boys. Time to raise your swords," said Lonnie.

All the boys pick up their swords and masks. Lonnie chooses to go one-on-one with Jay, who winks at her, causing her to smile awkwardly.

Lonnie clears her throat and prepares.

"Assembler."

The boys stood straight.

"Salute."

Everyone raises their swords.

"Lower the point."

They point their swords at the ground.

"Masks down."

Lonnie and the boys put on their masks.

"En garde."

Everyone gets into their fencing position. Four one-on-one fights start. Jay and Lonnie show plenty of grace and ferocity in their duel. Neither one could overpower the other. Jay tried looking for an opening, but Lonnie reacts quickly every time Jay finds one. Chad, meanwhile, uses a tumbling move to dodge his enemy's swing before poking him.

Jay dodges Lonnie's swing by jumping back and slouching to keep his stomach away from his opponent's sword. He jumps into the circle and taunts Lonnie, daring her to come in there with him. Lonnie jumps into the circle with style and continues exchanging swings with Jay.

Their blades either clashed or missed their target. Lonnie does a cartwheel jump and swings low, only for Jay to jump over the sword. Jay goes for the shoulder, but Lonnie blocks the strike. The two keep on swinging until their blades crossed. They tried to push each other off balance. Jay has the muscle, but Lonnie has the persistence. They budged hard and end up pushing each other away.

Lonnie twirls the sword in her hand before planting the point end on the floor, ending the fight.

"Power. Agility. Skill. You're the complete package, Jay," said Lonnie.

"Don't forget _slickness_ , Captain," said Jay, wiggling an eyebrow.

Lonnie chuckles awkwardly in response. Chad eyes the R.O.A.R. captain and the son of Jafar with a suspicious look on his face.

"Okay, boys. Take five," said Lonnie. "Except for Chad and Tyrone. On the wall, you two. Quad stretch. Two minutes."

Chad and Tyrone place one hand on the wall, pull their right feet back, and stay in that position until the time runs out. Chad sees Jay standing not too far from him and decides to talk to him about something.

"Psst," Chad called. "Jay, come over here."

Jay walks closer towards Chad.

"Don't think I don't see what you're doing," said Chad.

"What are you talking about?" asked Jay, confused.

"Playing dumb, huh? Well, it's not working on me," said Chad. "I see the way you look at Lonnie. You're trying to kiss up to the captain."

"What? No, I'm not," said Jay.

"Then what's with the winking, sweet-talking, and wiggling your eyebrows at her, huh?" asked Chad.

"Dude, it's obvious," said Tyrone. "He's flirting with her."

"So, what if I am?" asked Jay. "Lonnie's a special girl."

"Bet you say that about a lot of girls," said Chad.

"Besides Mal and Evie, not really," said Jay.

"Dude, you should go for it," said Tyrone.

"You're talking about dating the captain, Ty. I can't do that," said Jay. "Besides, I don't know if she looks at me the way I look at her."

"Looks to me like she does," said Tyrone. "Just ask her out. If she says no, well, then you can beat yourself up afterwards."

Chad faces Tyrone and asks him, "Why are you encouraging this?"

"Hey!" Lonnie shouted. "No talking. Keep stretching."

Chad and Tyrone raised their chins and pulled their legs up higher. Jay turns to Lonnie and teases her by looking at her the same way he looks at all the girls in school. Lonnie blushes and looks away. Jay feels that Tyrone may be right.

* * *

Jay was walking down the hallway, waving at some girls who were flirtatiously greeting him. He was about to head outside when someone blocked the doorway. It was Jordan, daughter of Genie. She didn't look happy. In fact, she looked really angry. Jay smiled at her, but she didn't smile back.

"What can I do for you?" asked Jay.

"You can give me back what you stole," said Jordan.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," lied Jay.

"I'm talking about my golden bracelet," said Jordan, pointing to her other two golden bracelets on her wrist.

Jay shrugged his shoulders. "Which one? Don't you wear, like, three gold bracelets?"

"The pearl one, you thief!" Jordan yelled. "Where is it?"

"Look, Jordan, I never remembered ever stealing anything from you," Jay lied again. "Although, I did see Audrey wearing a gold pearl bracelet similar to yours."

"You gave Audrey the bracelet you stole from me?" asked Jordan with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you gonna stand here and accuse me or are you gonna go and check on Audrey to see if the bracelet she's wearing is yours?" asked Jay, speaking as if he's innocent.

"When I get back my bracelet, you and I are gonna have a serious talk," said Jordan with a glare.

Jordan walks away to look for Audrey. As soon as she was out of sight, Jay smiled to himself. He couldn't wait to see the look on Jordan's face when she realizes that Audrey doesn't really have her gold pearl bracelet. He actually gave it to Ruby, daughter of Rapunzel.

"Once a thief, always a thief, huh?"

Jay turns around to see Lonnie, leaning back against the wall with her arms crossed and a look on her face that screams "you are so busted."

"Hey, at least I'm not stealing for myself," said Jay.

"Not easy breaking old habits, is it?" asked Lonnie.

"Once you step foot back on the Isle of the Lost, it all starts coming back," said Jay.

"You're hard to predict sometimes, you know that?" said Lonnie.

"Unpredictability is Harry Hook's thing, not mine," said Jay.

"Well, you're certainly unpredictable when it comes to R.O.A.R.," said Lonnie. "Chad thinks you're all power and no brain, but I think you have both and so much more."

"Looks like you have a favorite," said Jay.

"I don't pick favorites among my team, Jay," said Lonnie. "But I can say you impress me more than the others."

"Hey, impressing the ladies is my specialty," said Jay smoothly.

Lonnie snickered for a second.

"Hey, I've been wondering. You have any plans tonight?" asked Jay.

"No, why?" replied Lonnie.

"I just bought myself a new magic carpet and I was planning on asking a special lady to ride it with me," said Jay.

"And that special lady is me?" Lonnie guessed.

"Only if you say yes," said Jay.

"Are you sure it's paid?" asked Lonnie. "Audrey told me that you stole a carpet once."

"I'll show you the receipt," said Jay.

"Okay, Jay. I'll be your special lady," said Lonnie.

"You won't regret it," said Jay.

Lonnie's smile grew wider as she left. Jay pumps his fist and quietly shouts "yes." He just scored himself a date with the daughter of Mulan.

 **Are you excited about Jay and Lonnie's first date? Well, I'm gonna need time to plan how it's gonna go.**


	4. Evie: Love and Friendship, Part 1

**Writing about Evie and Doug as a couple is about as difficult as writing Carlos and Jane as a couple, so pardon me if the Devie romance here feels kinda lacking. I'm trying my best, though.**

 **Leave a review after reading, please.**

One month ago, Evie was content with her life on Auradon. She left her past in the past and focused on the present. She has a wonderful job as a fashion designer, designing dresses for the other girls in school. She has a good boyfriend in Doug, who also happens to be her accountant. She's helping King Ben give more kids from the Isle of the Lost, like Dizzy Tremaine, a chance to live a happy life in Auradon. All that was left is a castle to live in and one would say her life is perfect.

It wasn't until she returned to the Isle of the Lost when she realized that she had never really left the Isle of the Lost behind. Aside from some of her dress designs being inspired from her time on the island, her love for being wicked has never vanished, as shown a few weeks ago when she chemically spoiled an apple for Chad as payback for him secretly copying her chemistry homework.

"Evie!"

Evie looks away from the window when young Dizzy called for her. She was currently working on a dress for Ariel's nice, Arabella, for her birthday, which comes in two weeks. Evie has been teaching Dizzy how to how use a sewing machine. In her first couple of weeks, Dizzy would make a mess every time she uses it. She even accidentally broke the machine once. Luckily, Evie has more than enough money to buy a new one.

"How does it look?" asked Dizzy, holding up an aqua-colored dress with some pink features.

"Left sleeve's a little too short," said Evie.

"Oh." Dizzy felt embarrassed for overlooking that one detail. "I'll work on it."

"Let me help," said Evie.

Evie assists Dizzy on perfecting Arabella's dress. It made Evie happy to do something with the person she always considered as a little sister. She and Dizzy bonded over their love for jewelry and dream of going to Auradon. Now that she's here, they can help each other make their dreams come true.

"Remember, making a perfect dress requires a sharp eye," said Evie. "Don't rush. Don't stress your nerves. Just be sure you pay very, very close attention to every detail."

"It's really cool being here doing this with you," said Dizzy happily. "Have I told you before how happy I am to be here in Auradon?"

"Like seventy-four times," said Evie with a little laugh. "Yes, I keep count."

"Sorry," Dizzy apologizes, feeling like she's bugging Evie.

"No, you shouldn't stop," said Evie. "I'm just glad that you're happy. That's all I want for the other villain kids."

Evie puts her arm around Dizzy and pulls her closer for a hug.

"Sometimes, I feel like this is all a dream, and then when I wake up, I'm still in my mother's salon," said Dizzy.

"It does feel that way sometimes," Evie admitted.

"So, how are you and Doug?" asked Dizzy.

"Still together," said Evie, her smile growing wider as she thinks about the _dopey_ dwarf.

"I'm still surprised he's your boyfriend. He doesn't really seem like your type," Dizzy commented.

Evie drops her smile and glares at Dizzy, making the little girl smile nervously.

"I know. I know. That wasn't nice," said Dizzy, acting like she just enraged her grandmother.

It didn't take long until Evie and Dizzy were finished with Arabella's dress. The sleeves were now the same size, and Dizzy even added some glitter to the pink stripes.

"You're getting good at this," said Evie.

Dizzy smiles widely and claps, happy that Evie is proud of her. Evie hangs Arabella's dress on one of her dress racks.

"Doesn't the crowded space bug Mal?" asked Dizzy.

"Sometimes," said Evie. "But now that she's Lady of the Court, she has a reason to not be here."

"Evie, can I ask you something?" asked Dizzy.

"Sure. What is it?" replied Evie.

"Your ring," said Dizzy.

Evie was currently wearing three rings, but she knows that the one with the heart-shaped ruby is what Dizzy is talking about.

"Don't get me wrong. It's beautiful, really," said Dizzy. "It's just that, back on the Isle, every time you come into my granny's salon, I see you wearing it. And here in Auradon, you still wear it every day. Did your mother give it to you? Is that why you always wear it?"

"No, my mom gives me new jewelry almost every day," said Evie, rolling her eyes. "It's Carlos who gave this to me. Well, more than that. He made it for me."

"He did?" asked Dizzy, surprised.

Evie nods. "I like to think of it as a symbol of our friendship. The reason I always wear it is because I made him a promise that I would never take it off."

"That's so sweet," said Dizzy.

"He sure is," Evie agreed, happily unaware that she misheard the little girl's words. "He's a true friend."

"Think he can make me one?" asked Dizzy.

"He can't, because he'll be too busy making you a new phone," said Evie, putting her hands on her hips.

Dizzy shrinks in her seat, remembering every time she breaks a new phone.

* * *

Evie arrives at the chemistry lab early. She's continues on the secret rainbow nail polish experiment she's been working on for months. Every time she's close to finishing it, something or someone ruins it for her. Months ago, it was Mal when she was under the influence of her cursed jewel. Three days ago, the beaker that contains her experiment was destroyed by Carlos' chemical accident.

The sound of the door opening causes Evie to jump and almost drops a vial in her hand. Fortunately for her, it was only her boyfriend, Doug.

"Sorry if I startled you," said Doug.

"Don't worry. I didn't drop anything," said Evie.

"That's your rainbow nail polish experiment, right?" Doug guessed.

"Ally," Evie growled. "That girl talks too much."

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone," said Doug.

"Aren't you supposed to be a by-the-books kind of guy?" Evie implied.

"It's just nail polish. There's nothing wrong with that," said Doug.

"Well, this time, I'm taking this beaker out of here so there will be no more interference," said Evie.

"Won't Mr. Deley know?" asked Doug.

Evie reaches into her backpack and takes out a corked beaker filled with colored liquid. She places it on the desk, removes the cork, and uses it to cork the beaker filled with her experimental nail polish. She then puts it in her bag.

"You're bad," said Doug.

Evie smiled. "I'd take that as an insult if I hadn't accepted the Isle of the Lost as part of me."

"I just hope you don't slip back to your old ways too often," said Doug.

Evie holds Doug's hand with both her own and looks at him with a big smile on her face.

"For you, I won't," said Evie.

"I would believe that if you hadn't broken a promise last night," said Doug with a frown.

"What do you mean?" asked Evie.

"We were supposed to study together, but you blew me off," said Doug.

Evie puts her hand on her forehead upon remembering.

"Poison apples!" Evie cursed. "I am so sorry. I took Dizzy to a clothes store and then we had ice cream and then... I am so sorry, Doug. I just forgot."

"Don't worry. I get it. She's like a little sister to you. She just got here. You want to make her feel more welcome here," said Doug.

"Everything's just been so difficult lately," said Evie. "You. Dizzy. School. My job. Being assistant to the Lady of the Court. Helping Ben select the next villain kids to invite here to Auradon. Sometimes, I wonder why I throw myself into so much work."

"You're a strong woman with so much passion and a strong desire to help others. That's just a number of reasons why I like you a lot," said Doug.

Evil smiles and blushes at Doug's words. For someone so awkward, he wasn't afraid to speak his mind, which is the one of the reasons why she likes him.

"You and me at your dorm. Tonight," said Evie. "I'll be there."

"You and Dizzy have no plans tonight?" asked Doug.

"Besides delivering Arabella her birthday dress, no," said Evie.

"I guess it's a study date, then," said Doug, smiling.

"Every date we go on is a study date," said Evie.

"Maybe one day, we can have a dinner date or something, if you want to," said Doug.

"That would be really nice," said Evie.

Evie gives Doug a quick peck on the cheek.

* * *

During lunch, Evie sits by herself outside, updating both her GraceBook account and her InstaRoyal account on her phone. She read the comments on her latest profile picture update. Some girls from school kept asking why she kept on wearing the same ring. Jordan even joked that Evie might be secretly engaged. Doug replied to that comment, saying that the ring is probably a gift from Evie's mother. The daughter of Evil Queen laughed it off.

Evie's alone time ends when Lonnie sat down with her.

"Hey, Lonnie," Evie greeted. "You look like as if Shan Yu and the Huns escaped the Isle. Wait, they didn't, did they?"

"No," said Lonnie.

"So, what's the problem?" Evie asked.

"Jay just asked me out," answered Lonnie.

"Like out on a date?" Evie asked.

"A magic carpet ride," said Lonnie.

"OMG!" Evie exclaimed. "I knew there was something going on between you two."

"What gave you that idea?" asked Lonnie.

"Uh, Jay ignored dozens of girls at the Cotillion just to dance with you and you alone," said Evie.

"Well, I wasn't exactly his _date_ for the Cotillion. He just asked me to dance with him," said Lonnie, blushing.

"Don't deny it, girl. You're so into him," said Evie confidently.

"So, maybe I am," Lonnie admitted. "I'm just surprised. I mean, he never asked a girl out before. He was always waving at other girls, winking at them, smiling at them, and making eyes at them. Why ask me now?"

"Maybe he thinks he's finally found the right girl," said Evie. "Personally, I think you are the right girl for him."

"Personally, I thought Audrey was," said Lonnie. "Speaking of which, where is Audrey? I haven't seen her in, like, a couple of months."

"I know, right?" said Evie, looking around to see if Audrey is nearby. "I mean, what happened? We used to see her every day, but ever since she came back from that spa trip, it's like she just vanished. We know she still goes here to Auradon Prep, but it's like she's invisible or something."

"I know. It feels strange."

Evie and Lonnie turn their heads to see Jane just standing by the table.

"Where do you think she is?" asked Jane, referring to Audrey.

"No idea," said Lonnie.

"Hey, Jane," Evie greeted. "Can I do something for you?"

"Uh, yeah. My dress for my anniversary dinner tonight," said Jane.

At the sound of these words, Evie drops her face until her forehead made contact with the table. Lonnie and Jane are confused by this action.

"What anniversary?" Lonnie asked.

"My first month anniversary with Carlos," said Jane.

"Oh, my gosh!" Lonnie exclaimed. "Congratulations, girl!"

"Thanks," said Jane, smiling. "I was kinda scared we wouldn't make it this far."

Lonnie pokes Evie in the shoulder and asks, "Uh, Evie? What's the matter?"

Evie lifts her head from the table and looks at Jane. "I'm so sorry, Jane. I forgot to finish your dress last night."

"What?!" Jane exclaimed.

"Again, I'm really sorry," Evie apologized again. "I just have a whole lot of work to do. Between Dizzy, Doug, Mal, and everything else, I forgot about your special day."

"So, what am I supposed to wear for tonight?" asked Jane worriedly.

"I'll get it finished by tonight, I promise," said Evie.

"That's the second time someone's made me a promise today," Jane mumbled.

"Let me guess. Carlos promised something special to eat tonight?" Evie guessed.

"More like a special gift, actually," said Jane.

"He forgot to buy you a gift?" Lonnie asked.

"Looks like he and I are letting down the same person," said Evie sadly.

"Evie!"

Evie sees her best friend, Mal, running towards her.

"Whatever this is, Mal, can you wait for a moment? Lonnie's asking for dating advice and Jane is freaking out about her anniversary dinner," said Evie.

"Well, I need my personal assistant to walk with me right now," said Mal. "I could use a pep talk, actually."

"Everyone, please, one at a time," Evie pleaded. "You know I love you girls and I would do anything for you no matter what. It's just that I'm juggling so many things at once, it's hard to know which to prioritize."

"Now you know how I feel," said Mal.

"Kind of, yeah," said Evie. She looks at Jane and says, "I'll have your dress finished as soon as possible." She turns to Lonnie and says, "Wear something nice, make sure the skirt is knee-length, and be yourself."

Evie gets up and walks away with the new Lady of the Court.

"So, M, what's the problem?" Evie asked.

"I need a pep talk," said Mal.

"Why?" Evie asked.

"King Arthur. King Triton. Possible war. I'm nervous," Mal said anxiously.

 **Evie sure has a lot to juggle, doesn't she? Study date with Doug. Finishing Jane's dress. Can she keep her promise to both of them?**


	5. Mal: Lady of the Court, Part 2

**Before we see how Mal's visit to Camelot goes, let's sit down and read about how her best friends help her go through with the visit. One of the things I enjoy most about writing a Descendants story is exploring the friendship between the four villain kids. They are, after all, the core (pun intended) of the Descendants universe.**

 **Leave a review after reading, please (or don't, if you don't want to).**

 **I'd like to thank the following users for the most recent reviews: Malice-Bree-1998, top story, Psyche Castle**

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: In response to an anonymous review in Chapter 4, I didn't know that Audrey's disappearance in D2 was because of a spa trip. The reason I didn't know is that Jane was talking too fast. It's because of that I feel kinda embarrassed for Audrey's disappearance in this story. I just thought it would be funny that her friends know she still attends school at Auradon Prep, but they mysteriously don't see her.**

Mal and Evie returned to their dorm. Mal sits down in front of a mirror, while her best friend brushes her hair. To Evie's surprise, Mal had asked her to do this because it would help her calm down from all the pressure she was feeling for tomorrow's negotiation meeting with King Arthur and King Triton. Mal continues to stare at the golden tiara in her hands. She holds it up and pretends as if she's wearing it. To Mal, she looks like a total stranger with the golden headpiece. When she lowered the crown, she smiles at the sight of herself on the mirror. The color purple always reminds her of who she's looking at.

"You know you have a life most girls would be envious of, right?" Evie said.

"The King's girlfriend. Lady of the Court. You must be a prissy pink princess to ever want all this," replied Mal.

"So, are you calling _me_ a prissy pink princess?" Evie joked.

"Not what I meant," said Mal, laughing.

Evie playfully messes with Mal's hair a bit. Mal flails her arms at her friend, stopping her from messing her wavy purple locks. The two end their playful scuffle laughing together. Evie puts her arms around her best friend and gives her a hug. Mal puts her hand on top of her friend's, accepting the hug.

"You're on the top of the world, Mal," said Evie. "You may not be the queen yet, but as Lady of the Court, you get a glimpse of the life of a queen."

"So far, it's been both an honor and a headache," said Mal. "All I wanted is a future with Ben. I know that dream comes with running Auradon, but all the pressure, even if I'm being myself, it's all just too much. It's not that I don't want to go through with this. It's just that there's this feeling that there's something else I want."

"Does this have anything to do with thinking about the _so many ways to be wicked_?" asked Evie.

Evie can see Mal's surprised reaction in the mirror. The purple-haired future queen faces away from the mirror and looks at her friend's true face, caught off guard by her words.

"I hear you singing this song in your sleep sometimes," said Evie. She started singing some of the lyrics from the song. " _A fairy tale life can be oh, so overrated, so raise your voices and let's get it activated._ "

Mal giggled because the lyrics Evie just sang were exactly the lyrics that Evie from her dream sang.

"Mal, I know you still miss breaking the rules and stuff, but you made the choice to stay and be Lady of the Court," said Evie. "What more can you want?"

"That's the thing. I don't know," said Mal.

"You're singing a song about being wicked, and yet being wicked again is _not_ what you want," said Evie, failing to comprehend Mal's dilemma.

"E, you know that I would always miss the bad old days, but that doesn't mean I'm so desperate to relive them," said Mal. "I may have chosen to stay, but that doesn't mean I've fully realized who I want to be. I want to be with Ben for the rest of my life, yes, but I still don't feel whole."

Evie moves to the side of the chair and crouches down as she looks at her friend with sympathy.

"I know the past few months have been difficult for you," said Evie. "But remember, you're not alone. You have Ben. You have me. You have Carlos. You have Jay. You have so many friends who want to help you through this. I may not fully understand why you feel so pressured, but I do understand that you're still trying to adjust to this unexpected turning point in your life. As your best friend, all I can say is that whenever you need a shoulder to lean on, you have me."

"I sometimes can't believe that I once hated you," said Mal.

"And I still can't believe the ruthless, vicious daughter of Maleficent would capture the heart of the humble, compassionate King Ben," said Evie.

"Evie!" Mal scolded her friend, feeling offended by her reply.

"Brutal honesty," said Evie with a smirk. "Still rotten to the core."

Mal's stopped looking offended and puts on a sinister-looking grin on her face.

"You're kinda scaring me," said Evie, creeped out by her friend's smile.

"I'm just proud of you," said Mal. "Nice to know there's still a little bit of bad in you."

"Oh, I have more than just a little bit of bad in me. You'll see," said Evie.

* * *

Later that day, Jay walks into the amphitheater to see one person he didn't expect to see there. It was Mal, standing in the middle of the circle with a sword in her hand. At first, she was standing straight and holding the sword's handle with both hands in a vertical position. Next, she holds the sword in a diagonal position in front of her before bowing her head. After that, she gets into a fencing position.

"If you're trying out, you're kinda too late," said Jay, making his presence known.

"I just came here to clear my head," said Mal.

"By practicing on how to knight a hero or to sword-fight?" Jay joked.

Mal rolls her eyes in response.

"Evie told me you were leaving for Camelot soon," said Jay.

"Is there anything else she told you?" Mal asked.

"She told me to give you a pep talk if I found you, because she said you really need it," said Jay.

"I thought you hated girl talk," said Mal.

"Unless the girl in question happens to be my friend," said Jay. "I did offer to take you back to the Isle if the Cotillion went bad."

"I remember," said Mal.

"So, uh, anything you can say that will help me know what to say next?" asked Jay, who has no idea what he should be saying to his friend.

"Well, regardless of whether or not I can prove my theory to King Arthur and King Triton, I still have to calm the tension between them," said Mal. "Which means I have to be able to utter some kind of philosophical saying about war and why it's bad or just simply tell them that fighting is pointless."

"Well, if I am to say something wise, all I can say is don't give up. You quit on this, you quit on Auradon. You quit on Auradon, you quit on Ben," said Jay.

Mal, at first, cringed at her friend's advice, but after letting it sink in, she begins to see how helpful his words are.

"I said something stupid, didn't I?" Jay guessed, nervous about Mal's silence.

"No, you actually said something smart for once," said Mal. "You're right, Jay. I let the kingdom down, I let Ben down. I can't allow that. I have to be fully devoted to this mission and never let my insecurities get the best of me."

"That sounds deeper than what I was just saying," said Jay.

"Hey, while you're here, mind if we have a little sparring session?" Mal asked.

"Sure, why not?" Jay agreed.

"Don't think I'm gonna go easy on you," Mal warned.

Jay picks up a sword and enters the circle with Mal. After saluting, they get into their fencing positions, ready to spar.

* * *

Meanwhile, Carlos was in his dorm, sketching ideas on what to give Jane for their first month anniversary. _Flowers and chocolate?_ Too cliche. _A waffle maker?_ Nah. _A stuffed dog?_ Lame. Running out of ideas and losing his temper, Carlos crumples the paper and throws it away. Someone opens the door in time to see the crumpled piece of paper bounce off the wall and fall into the garbage can. It was Mal, wearing her purple dress and golden tiara.

"Hey, Carlos," Mal greeted.

"Hey, Mal," Carlos greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm about to leave for Camelot soon and, well, you're the only person who hasn't given me a pep talk yet," said Mal.

"Feeling nervous or something?" Carlos asked.

"Kind of, yeah, considering I just put myself at the center of trying to stop a war between Camelot and Atlantica," said Mal.

"I thought you hated politics," said Carlos.

"I do, but I have to develop an interest to it in order to do this job," said Mal.

"I thought you wanted to be your own Lady of the Court," said Carlos.

"I'm trying," said Mal. "But I'm just not so sure if being me is gonna help me get through this. This is a very, very, very serious matter, Carlos, and I don't want to ruin it for myself, Auradon, and most importantly, Ben."

"Ben's gonna be proud of you no matter what," said Carlos.

"I know," said Mal with a faint smile. "Do you have any advice for me?"

"I'm not exactly an expert in giving advice," said Carlos.

"Says the guy who told me to give Ben a chance and see if he loves me for me," said Mal. "I must say, I'm still surprised you said all that. You've really grown."

Carlos gets up from his bed and walks towards Mal, smiling at her.

"We've all grown," said Carlos.

"In your case, literally and metaphorically," Mal added. "Seems like yesterday, we were just the same height."

"Puberty," Carlos shrugged.

Carlos gently puts his arm around Mal, giving her a friendly side hug. This motion caused Mal to flash back to the moment in her dream where Carlos smoothly put his arm around her. The image replays in her head over and over again while not knowing why it's happening.

"Uh, Mal."

Mal snaps out of it after hearing Carlos' voice.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "You spaced out for a moment there."

"I guess I'm just surprised how bold you are these days," Mal lied. "First, you got me and Evie to sit down and talk. Now, you're hugging me without my permission."

"We're friends, Mal," said Carlos. "Aren't we?"

"Of course, we are," said Mal.

Carlos grabs hold of Mal's hands and looks at her in the eyes. Mal didn't know why, but the closeness between them was making her fluster.

"Look, Mal, I... I d-don't exactly know what I-I sh-should be s-saying to you," Carlos stuttered. "But what I can say is that you're the strongest person I have ever met, both physically and metaphorically, in fact. If you can stand up to your mother and win Ben's heart, you can do anything. You shouldn't be afraid of anything. You're Mal. The Mal I knew from the Isle is not afraid of anything. Just be you, simple."

Carlos was about to let go of Mal's hands, but she wasn't letting go. She was staring at him and holding his hands very tight.

"Uh, Mal, you can let go," said Carlos.

Mal looks down and sees Carlos trying to free his hands from hers. She releases her grip on his hands, letting him go.

"Sorry," Mal apologized. "I spaced out again."

"Try avoiding that in the middle of an important matter," Carlos advised.

"Noted," replied Mal. "Thanks, Carlos."

Mal pats Carlos' shoulder, only to realize that she's touching the shoulder where his M-shaped scar was. A scar that she carved on him herself. When the VKs first arrived in Auradon, Carlos asked Mal if she can use her magic to remove the scar because he didn't want anyone asking questions. Mal denied his request because that would mean freeing him from her wrath. Instead, she used an invisibility spell to render his scar unseen.

"You're spacing out again," said Carlos.

Mal lightly slaps herself in the forehead, ending her reverie. She was about to exit the dorm until her curiosity causes her look down at the crumpled piece of paper in the trash can. She picks it up, opens it, and sees drawings of flowers, chocolates, a waffle maker, and a dog. Carlos sees Mal looking at it and blushes with embarrassment.

"You are pathetic," said Mal.

"Any advise?" Carlos asked.

"Afraid not," said Mal. "But I will tell you this. Don't give Jane something so cheesy and cliche."

Mal leaves the paper on Jay's bed before leaving the room.

"Looks like Jane has some competition," said Dude.

"What are you talking about, Dude?" Carlos asked.

"If you ask me, I think she was making eyes on you," said Dude. "Not to mention she didn't want to let go of your hands."

"I'm pretty sure she was just surprised by how mature I've become," said Carlos with pride.

"Barely," replied Dude.

"Do you ever _not_ tell the truth?" Carlos asked with umbrage.

"Truth gummy, remember?" Dude reminded. "I am cursed to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And I like it."

Instead of feeling irritated like he usually does around the now talking Dude, he affectionately pets his dog with a big smile on his face.

"I love you, buddy," said Carlos.

* * *

It was time for Mal to go to Camelot with Ben. She approaches the front door of Auradon Prep, but stops before she can reach for the door knob. She expected to be pounced by reporters outside. She places her ear on the door and heard murmuring. Yup, there were definitely reporters outside. Taking a deep breath, Mal opens the door and is met with flashing lights from cameras and reporters asking multiple questions.

"Mal!"

"Mal!"

"Mal!"

"Is it true that Atlantica sent a giant octopus to attack Camelot?"

"Are Camelot and Atlantica on the verge of war?"

"What do you intend to do about the situation?"

Fortunately for Mal, Fairy God Mother was there to keep them off her back. The headmistress manages to clear a way through the reporters for Mal. She sees Ben standing by the royal limo, talking to who appears to be a blonde girl on a wheelchair. Once again, Mal thinks back to her mysterious dream. The image of Carlos pushing the paraplegic girl outside the school to join the wicked party flashes in her head.

After snapping herself out of her trance, she approaches her royal boyfriend.

"Hey, Ben," she called. "I'm ready."

"Good," said Ben. He looks at the paraplegic girl and says, "We'll continue some other time."

"Sure, your highness," said the girl.

"C'mon, Eleanor, we talked about this," said Ben. "Call me Ben."

"If you say so, Ben," said Eleanor.

Mal waves at Ben's friend and says, "Hi."

"Lady Mal," Eleanor greeted her with politeness. "Or do you prefer Mal?"

"Yes, I prefer Mal," said the daughter of Maleficent.

She notices something different about Eleanor's wheelchair. It was mostly made of metal and there was a joystick on the right armrest.

"Hey, is that a new wheelchair?" She asked.

"Your friend, Carlos, made it for me," said Eleanor. "It also comes with a built-in fan, a cup holder, and a compartment for my phone."

"How generous of him," said Mal.

"He's a good kid," said Eleanor.

"He sure is," Mal agreed.

"Well, I should be heading back to class," said Eleanor. "Good luck. Both of you."

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

Ben opens the door to the limo and politely lets Mal enter first. The driver begins to drive them to Camelot.

"Still nervous?" Ben asked.

"After three pep talks from my friends, a little less now," Mal answered.

"Evie, Jay, and Carlos?" Ben guessed.

"They're my best friends," Mal smiled.

"Audrey once wondered why you, the worst of the villain kids, could turn over a new leaf. I think the answer is obvious," said Ben. "Your friends."

"I know," said Mal. "When we found each other, we learned about compassion, yet we didn't even know it until we came here. The four of us may have planted goodness in each other, but you were the key to setting that goodness free."

"That's all I want for the children on the Isle of the Lost," said Ben.

"They'll be grateful, for sure," said Mal.

The ride to Camelot was taking an awfully long time. So long that Mal had fallen asleep. Her eyes close and her head rests on Ben's shoulder. Ben smiles as he holds her hand. He would never admit it to her, but he thinks she looks cute when she was sleeping.

 **The next time we see Mal, she and Ben will be in Camelot. Before we get there, we'll revisit the stories of Evie, Jay, and Carlos in the next three chapters. I hope you're loving this story so far.**


	6. Carlos: The Perfect Gift, Part 2

**Let's return to Carlos and his mission of finding the perfect anniversary gift for Jane.**

 **Leave a review after reading, please (or don't if you don't want to).**

 **I'd like to thank the following users for reviewing the previous chapter: Malice-Bree-1998, top story, Wolf**

 ** _To Wolf_: The prologue of the series, "You and Me", explains Carlos' scar.**

Carlos was outside at the school lawn, sitting down on the grass, meditating. He keeps his eyes closed and breathes in and out slowly. Nearby students chatting and birds chirping were ruining his concentration, but he keeps himself calm by thinking peaceful thoughts. He thinks about Jane and how happy he is to be with her.

"Remind me again why you're doing this?" Dude asked.

Carlos' concentration is disrupted at the sound of his dog talking. He opens his eyes and sighs.

"Meditation is an effective method for clearing one's mind and reducing stress," said Carlos. "I thought that if I was less stressed and anxious, I could think of the perfect gift for Jane."

"What's on your mind right now?" asked Dude.

"Since you interrupted my moment of peace, nothing," said Carlos.

"Maybe you should just go with flowers and chocolates. I'm sure she'll love it," said Dude.

"No, it's gotta be something different, something that screams _I love you_ ," said Carlos.

"Have you told her that yet?" asked Dude.

"No," said Carlos.

"I have an idea," said Dude. "A stuffed dog that says, _I love you._ She likes dogs, doesn't she?"

"No, it's too cheesy," said Carlos.

"How am I supposed to help you if you keep rejecting my ideas?" asked Dude.

"Mal said nothing cheesy or cliche," said Carlos.

"Why let her tell you what to get your girl?" asked Dude.

"Because she has a boyfriend who always knows the right gift to give her," said Carlos. "Ben gave Mal a purple scooter, and she loved it. That's something I want to do for Jane. I don't want to give her something any other boyfriend would give to his girlfriend. It has to be extra special."

"Well, unless you're gonna go with a cake or a pie that says the three words, I can't help you," said Dude.

"I need some help," said Carlos.

* * *

Carlos returns to his dorm to see his roommate, Jay, looking at a fancy carpet on the floor.

"Did you steal that?" He asked.

Jay reaches into his pocket and takes out a receipt. It was legit.

"So, why would you buy a magic carpet?" Carlos asked.

"I'm taking a beautiful girl out for a sunset ride," said Jay.

"Since when do you go on dates?" Carlos asked skeptically.

"Since now," said Jay.

"Who's the lucky girl?" Carlos asked with a bit of sarcasm.

"Lonnie," answered Jay.

"You asked the new R.O.A.R. team captain out on a date?" Carlos asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If you're thinking that I'm trying to kiss up to the captain, then you're wrong," said Jay.

"So, what you're telling me is that Lonnie _was_ your date for the Cotillion?" Carlos asked. "She wasn't just dancing with you as a thank you for naming her team captain?"

"This may sound a little cheesy, but I think I felt a spark between us that night," said Jay.

"And you think you're ready?" Carlos asked.

"Mal has Ben. Evie has Doug. You have Jane. Maybe it's time I find someone too," said Jay.

"And you think Lonnie is the one?" asked Carlos.

"Well, she's a cool girl," said Jay.

"Try telling that to her face," Carlos joked.

"I'm sure she'll take it as a compliment," said Jay.

"Hey, Jay, uh, I could use some help," said Carlos.

"On what?" asked Jay.

"Jane," Carlos answered. "It's our first month anniversary and I forgot to buy her a gift."

"Dude, how could you forget?" asked Jay, laughing a bit.

"Chad. School. Maybe selective amnesia is a side effect from the chemical explosion a few days ago, I don't know. Maybe I'm just an idiot," said Carlos.

"When it comes to girls, yes," said Jay.

Carlos glares at Jay, who just shrugged his shoulders, not feeling intimidated.

"Why not flowers and chocolates? Girls loves those," Jay suggested.

Carlos sighs with irritation. He walks towards his bed and lets himself fall, feeling hopeless. His face hits his pillow.

"I'm am so getting dumped," he mumbled.

"How 'bout you just bring one of the two? Flowers or chocolates?" Dude suggested.

Carlos lifts his face from his pillow and shoots an irritated look at his dog and his roommate.

"Enough with flowers and chocolates!" He yelled.

"Then I can't help you," said Jay. "Unless, of course, you're willing to do something... bad."

"Like what?" Carlos asked.

"Eavesdrop on her," said Jay. "Listen to her while she's talking with her friends. Don't girls usually talk about things they want and all that?"

"That's actually a good idea," Dude agreed.

"See? Even Dude agrees with me," said Jay.

Carlos thinks about Jay's suggestion. He was tempted to do it. If he knew some of the things Jane wants, he can pick from one of them. Easy peasy. His lips curve into a smile, only for him to drop it immediately. He remembered something that made him second-guess himself.

"No," he said. "Jane told me to my gift has to come from my heart. Stalking her for information is just an easy way to be rid of my desperation."

"Then what are you gonna do?" asked Jay.

"I'm gonna do my homework," Carlos answered with a deadpan tone.

Carlos empties his bag of all his notebooks, textbooks, and writing materials. He starts with his chemistry homework, which Jay predicted he'd do first.

* * *

Evie was walking back to her dorm with Jane, who not stop talking about her dress and her anniversary dinner with Carlos. Mal had once expressed to Evie how much Jane's rambling bugged her. Evie was beginning to feel Mal's pain, while also seeing one of the reasons why she and Carlos are perfect for each other. They both tend to babble uncontrollably.

"... what if Mr. Deley gave him so much homework and he becomes so focused on it that he forgets to buy me a gift?" Jane continued babbling. "Or worse, what if he forgets our anniversary dinner altogether? What if..."

"Jane!" Evie interrupted her.

"Was I bugging you?" asked Jane nervously.

"To be honest, yes," said Evie. "Look, Jane, I'm sure Carlos won't forget. Sure, maybe he'll get wrapped up on his homework, if Mr. Deley gave him any, but I'm sure he'll remember to give you something."

"He's never even told me that he loves me," said Jane. "Then again, I never told him that I love him either, so..."

"Do you love him?" asked Evie.

"I do," said Jane, nodding.

Evie puts on a big smile on her face.

"You should tell him," said Evie.

"But we've only been in a relationship for a month. I don't think it's the right time," said Jane, feeling jumpy.

"No, I think you should," said Evie. "For all we know, he's probably planning on telling you tonight at dinner."

"Speaking of dinner, is my dress ready?" asked Jane.

"Almost," said Evie. "In fact, I'm just about to head back to my dorm and finish it."

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

Evie arrives at her dorm. She takes out her key to unlock the door, but when she twisted it, there was no sound of a dead bolt clicking. Her door was already open. Suspecting that Uma or CJ have broken into her dorm, she takes out her perfume bottle, which was full of sleeping potion, and slowly opens her door. Fortunately, the person in the room is a friendly.

It was Carlos. He was using her laptop.

"Um, Carlos," Evie called.

"I 3D-printed a copy of your key," said Carlos, explaining how he got in. "Yes, I know that's a page from Chad's playbook, but how else was I supposed to get in?"

"Why are you here?" Evie asked.

"I'm losing my mind, Evie. I'm losing my mind. I'm losing my mind. I'm losing my mind," said Carlos, sounding more anxious than before.

"What's the matter?" Evie asked.

"I've been trying to think of a gift for Jane, but I got nothing," said Carlos. "I did my chemistry homework to clear my head. After that, I threw away about exactly thirteen pieces of paper full of ideas for a gift. I tried calling Ben to ask him for advice, but he wouldn't pick up, probably asleep on the ride to Camelot. I was still stressed out, so I did every piece of homework I have on my schedule. Mathematics. History. Grammar. But even after all that, I'm still losing my mind. I'm losing my mind, Evie. I don't know what to get Jane. I just don't know..."

Evie pulls Carlos off the chair and gives him a hug, trying to calm him down. Carlos buries his head on her shoulder and put his arms around her, hugging her tightly. She rubs the back of his hair and tightens the hug. She then looks at her laptop, seeing what Carlos was doing.

"You're tracking my financial accounts?" Evie asked.

"I ran out of homework, so I needed something else to keep my mind off things," said Carlos.

"And you chose to do Doug's accounting job for him?" Evie questioned.

"Accounting is a lot of fun, actually," said Carlos. "By the way, I did the numbers and I found a faster way for you to get the money you need for that castle you want. You ever thought about investing in Pink Hearts Fashion instead of Silver Spoon Style?"

"If I do, how much money will I make?" asked Evie.

"Your generate 200% more income every month," said Carlos.

Evie smiles. She gives Carlos another hug as she looks at the numbers on the screen.

"I think it's time I pay you back," said Evie.

"I don't need money, Evie," said Carlos.

"No, what you need is an idea of a gift for Jane," said Evie.

Evie sits down on her bed and gestures for Carlos to sit next to her. She puts her arm around him as he rests his head on her shoulder again.

"So, what have you come up with so far?" asked Evie.

"Precisely forty-seven ideas. I remember all of them, but I think I'll just tell that they involve home appliances, stuffed animals, and asking Dove Cameron to come here and sing," said Carlos.

"I've always wanted Mal to meet her," said Evie.

"That would be fun," said Carlos, laughing at the thought of Mal meeting her celebrity look-alike.

"Carlos, what exactly do you want your gift to show?" asked Evie.

"That I love her," said Carlos.

"Have you thought of a creative way to tell her that?" asked Evie.

"Not really," said Carlos. "You're not gonna suggest putting those words on a stuffed dog or cake, are you?"

"Well, it does sound creative," said Evie.

"It just doesn't feel right," said Carlos. "Jane told me that she'll only accept my gift if it came from my heart. I don't know what my heart wants to give her."

"If you ask me, you're not using your heart at all," said Evie. "I think I know the problem. You're treating this like a test, and if you don't do well, you'll fail. Doing a test requires using your brain, which is what you've been doing this whole time."

"How will I know if I'm using my heart?" asked Carlos.

"Only you would know that," said Evie.

"I just want to show Jane how much she means to me," said Carlos.

Evie places her other hand on his head, petting him gently. She then looks at the ruby ring on her finger, and then something hit her. Carlos gave her the ring as a gift, and she loved it.

"Carlos, when were in the Cave of Wonders, what exactly was running through your head when you saw the ruby?" She asked.

"That you would probably love it," said Carlos.

"But why would you even think about giving me a ruby in the first place?" asked Evie.

"I... I didn't think at all. I looked at it, thought of you, and then something pounded in my chest," said Carlos. He then realizes what Evie was trying to say. He looks at her with a face that tells her he knows what she's saying.

"That's right. The idea of giving me this ring came from your heart, not your mind," said Evie. "You need to stop _thinking_ about what the perfect gift is and go with what you feel is right."

Carlos lifts his head from Evie's shoulder and smiles at her.

"I think, no, I _feel_ that I need to tell her that I love her," said Carlos.

"And how do you plan on telling her?" asked Evie.

"I'll let Jane babble to you about it tomorrow," said Carlos.

"Please, no. I can't stand her when she's like that," Evie pleaded.

"Too bad," said Carlos.

Carlos gives Evie a big hug before rushing out the door. He comes back a few seconds later and leaves the 3D-printed key on Mal's bed.

"Thanks. You're a true friend, Evie," he said.

"Hey, that's what _I_ call you," said Evie.

Carlos runs away again. Evie pats herself in the shoulder, congratulating herself for a job well done.

 **Want to know what Carlos' gift is? That's gonna have to wait until the third (and final) part of his arc in this story.**


	7. Evie: Love and Friendship, Part 2

**To be honest, Evie's part in this story is the hardest to write. I hope you enjoy this new chapter.**

 **Leave a review after reading, please.**

 **I'd like to thank the following users for reviewing the previous chapter: top story, Wolf, Guest**

 ** _To Guest (who reviewed Chapter 6)_: No hablo español, pero sí traduje tu reseña. Una vez más, me gustaría dar las gracias, no sólo por decir que te gusta la historia, sino también por expresar lo que te gusta de la historia. Lo aprecio.**

After the class day has ended, Evie immediately rushes to Doug's dorm so they can study together. First, she drops off one dress box at Arabella's dorm and another one at Jane's dorm. She turns a corner towards Doug's room, only to end up running into Doug himself. She falls on top of him, causing him to drop his books.

"Sorry, Doug," Evie apologized, helping her boyfriend get back on his feet.

"Why the rush?" asked Doug.

"I was just on my way to your dorm," said Evie. "And it seems that you're not even there yet."

Evie picks up Doug's books and returns them to him.

"You're sweating," said Doug.

Evie puts her hand on her forehead. It feels a little wet.

"Too much running, I guess," said Evie. "Had to give Arabella her birthday dress and Jane her anniversary dress."

"I talked to Jane earlier. She seems pretty worried about Carlos either forgetting to give her a gift or the dinner," said Doug.

"Lucky for her, I talked to Carlos. I'm sure he's got something special up his sleeve," said Evie.

"Hey, before we study, I need to finish the calculations on your profits for today," said Doug.

"Oh, no need. Carlos took care of it for you," said Evie. "And did so much more, I may say."

"What did he do?" asked Doug.

"He found a way I can increase my monthly income twice as much," said Evie.

"And w-why did you ask him to do my job?" asked Doug with a hint of jealousy.

"I didn't ask him. He just came into my room uninvited and used my laptop because he needed some Math-related activity to calm himself down," said Evie. "Now stop being dopey and hold my hand."

Doug did as Evie said and held her hand. They continued to walk towards Doug's dorm.

"Why are you always so worried that I would leave you for someone?" asked Evie.

"Um, well, uh, I..." Doug stammered continuously.

"It's because you don't think you're good enough for me, is it?" Evie guessed.

"Well, I'm dopey, and you're the second most popular girl in school," said Doug.

"Second?" Evie raised an eyebrow.

"Mal _is_ the King's girlfriend and Lady of the Court, so, you know," said Doug, afraid he offended his girlfriend.

"Fair point," said Evie. "Doug, we've been together for half a year, and you think that you're not good enough for me?"

"I guess I'm just worried I'm not the right guy for you," said Doug.

"Doug, you _are_ the right guy for me," said Evie. "You helped me realize that I don't need a prince to be happy. You helped me realize how smart I really am. I could never ask for a better guy than you to be my boyfriend. I love you."

Doug was beyond shocked. His mouth was wide open and his eyes won't blink. Evie snaps him out of it by kissing him on the cheek.

"Surprised?" Evie smiled.

"M-More than that," said Doug, still stunned by the three words she told him. "Do you really mean it?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't," said Evie. "What about you? Do you love me?"

"Uh..." Doug wast lost for words.

Evie can tell she caught him at a bad time. She lightly slaps him in the face and raises his face with her finger, making sure his chin was up. She then adjusts the collar on his cat and fiddles with his bow tie. Doug just stared at Evie with the same wide-eyed expression he showed when Evie confessed her true feelings. After Evie was finished fixing Doug's coat, she pokes Doug between eyes, snapping him out of his daze again.

"Feel better?" Evie asked.

"I honestly have no idea," said Doug.

Evie laughs, amused by Doug's discomfiture.

"Let's study, shall we?" Evie said, pulling Doug towards his dorm.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dizzy was outside the school, standing by the former king Beast's statue. She's been clapping at it for fifteen minutes, but the statue won't morph. She then sits down on the ground, resting her chin on her hand. She then hears the front doors opening. She stands up and smiles, hoping it was Evie, only to be disappointed when she sees someone else. It was Carlos.

"Hey, Dizzy," he called. "I've been looking for you. I need your help." He then notices the little girl's frown. "Hey, why the long face?"

"Evie was supposed to take me to E.Y.E. Optical for a new pair of glasses, but she hasn't shown up," said Dizzy, looking at her wrist watch. "I've been waiting for thirty-two, thirty-three minutes, I think?"

"You want me to go get her?" Carlos offered.

"No, she's probably busy with Doug, again," said Dizzy, increasing the sarcasm and disappointment in her tone in saying the last word of the sentence.

"What do you mean _again_?" Carlos asked.

Dizzy stands up and answers the question. "Two weeks ago, she was supposed to take me to Fairy Queen ice cream shop, but she blew me off to study with Doug. Three days after that, she promised to take me to the Kids-at-Work playhouse, but once again, she was too busy studying with Doug to remember."

"Doug is Evie's boyfriend, Dizzy," Carlos reminded.

"Oh, so you think she should blow me off all the time to hang out with him?" Dizzy accused.

"No, that's not what I'm saying," said Carlos. "Evie's a busy woman, Dizzy. She has school. She has a job. She has to help Mal with her new position as Lady of the Court..."

"I know, Carlos. I know," Dizzy interrupted. "It's just, I don't know how much more of these letdowns I can take."

"Are you sure you don't want me to talk to her?" Carlos asked.

"Never mind Evie," said Dizzy. "What do you need?"

Carlos was surprised by Dizzy's hostility towards Evie. He may not have taken the time to know her better, past and present, but he knew her well enough to know that she would never behave like this.

"Uh, how about we talk about it on our way to E.Y.E.?" Carlos suggested.

"You want to take me there?" asked Dizzy, surprised by the offer.

"Why not? I got the time," said Carlos.

* * *

Evie always loved studying with Doug. He was one of the smartest students in Auradon Prep, and so was she. Their bond over brains is party the reason they're in relationship. Sharing their intelligence with each other helps make them feel connected.

"What is the atomic weight of calcium carbonate?" Doug asked, testing Evie.

"100.09 AMU," Evie answered.

"Correct," said Doug. "Lastly, what is the atomic weight of nitrous oxide?"

"44.01 AMU," Evie answered.

"You're really good at this," said Doug.

"Only because I have such a brilliant study buddy, not to mention an excellent boyfriend," said Evie, blinking at the dwarf.

Doug smiles in response. He had always thought of himself as a dopey nerd, but being with Evie helps him see a better side of himself.

"Well, I better go. I got five more dresses to finish and an anniversary dinner to spy on," said Evie.

"I'm not sure Carlos would appreciate that," said Doug.

"I know. That's why it's gonna be so much fun," said Evie.

"Speaking of dinner, I was wondering... maybe... you want to go on one with me this weekend?" Doug asked nervously.

"You don't have to be nervous, Doug. Of course, I'll go," said Evie. "On one condition. I want it to be surprise."

"Sure," said Doug.

"I guess I have a sixth dress to add to my checklist," Evie added.

"That's not necessary. You can wear any one of your older dresses. You look beautiful in all of them," said Doug.

"Why, thank you, Doug," said Evie, flattered.

Evie gives Doug another kiss on the cheek before leaving the dorm. Doug smiled as he watched her leave. He thought about her confession earlier and wondered if he did feel the same way about her.

* * *

Evie walks back to her dorm, only to run into someone once again after turning a corner. Once again, it was a face she was familiar with. It was Dizzy Tremaine. She was holding a pair of scissors, a glue gun, and some jewelry.

"Hey, Dizzy," Evie greeted. "How was school? Is anyone giving you any trouble?"

"No trouble. Today, at least," said Dizzy.

Evie then notices something different about Dizzy. She narrows her eyes and looks closer.

"Are those new glasses?" Evie asked.

"Yes, there are," said Dizzy, adjusting said glasses.

"Where did you get them?" Evie asked.

Dizzy didn't speak and just put on a pained look on her face. Evie was confused at first, until she remembered something.

"I was supposed to take you to E.Y.E.," said Evie, putting her hand on her forehead, grunting at herself in frustration. "I am so sorry, Dizzy. I am so, so sorry. I-I-I'll make it up to you."

"That's what you said last time you blew me off, and the time before that," said Dizzy.

"What do you mean?" Evie asked, confused.

"Fairy Queen. Kids-at-Work. Remember that?" Dizzy reminded.

Evie suddenly remembers the past two times she studied with Doug instead of hanging out with Dizzy. The look on Dizzy's face tells her that she's definitely bothered by the repeated letdowns. Dizzy walks away, but Evie gets in her way.

"Dizzy, I'm serious this time. I _will_ make it up to you," said Evie.

"I wish I can believe you, Evie, but I'm beginning to trust you even less. I know you're busy with a lot of things, but I didn't think you would so busy that you would forget about me," said Dizzy. "I thought we were friends. Sisters."

"We _are_ sisters, Dizzy," said Evie.

"Then why do you keep ignoring me?" asked Dizzy.

"I'm not ignoring you," said Evie.

"No, you just keep spending time with your boyfriend instead of me because he's more important in your life than me," said Dizzy.

"That's not true," said Evie.

Dizzy walks away.

"Wait!" Evie shouted.

Dizzy stops and turns around.

"How did you get those glasses?" Evie asked.

"Carlos," answered Dizzy, smiling a little. "He took me to E.Y.E."

"He did?" asked Evie.

"Yeah," said Dizzy. "He's a true friend."

"That, he is," Evie agreed, smiling.

"By the way, he told me to tell you to not show up at his dinner," said Dizzy. "Yeah, he knew you might spy on him and Jane on their big night. That's one of the reasons he asked me for help."

"Help with what?" Evie asked.

"A surprise for Jane. Also, I'm his personal security, making sure no one by the name of Evie crashes his dinner," said Dizzy. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get started on his surprise. I'm not letting him down."

Evie knew Dizzy meant for those last five words to hit her where it really hurts. She didn't yell at the little girl for being harsh, because she believes she deserves it. She was the one who made the decision to invite Dizzy to Auradon. She's the one who's always there by her side, trying to make her feel like Auradon is home. Yet, she repeatedly blows her off whenever they have big nights planned to spend together, with the exception of the previous night when she forgot to study with Doug so she can hang out with Dizzy.

"You were wrong, Carlos. I'm no true friend," she muttered.

 **Poor Evie. She finally makes it up to Doug, but now Dizzy is mad at her. Can she repair their friendship? You'll find out on the third (and final) part of Evie's story.**


	8. Jay: First Date, Part 2

**Here it is. Jay's first date with Lonnie. Enjoy.**

 **I'd like to thank the following users for the most recent reviews: Bal-Breelice09121994, Malice-Bree-1998, Psyche Castle, DragonEmperor999**

 ** _To Malice-Bree-1998_: You had me scared for a moment. I'm glad you're not taking out on me. I'm sorry about what I did to Evie in this story, but I did it for a reason. This story is meant to show growth and development in the characters. Just wait until Part 3 of Evie's story. You won't be disappointed, at least, I hope you won't be. Again, thank you.**

Jay was outside Auradon Prep, standing by his magic carpet, staring at the horizon. The sun was beginning to set. The sky was beginning to turn orange. Jay pretends to look a watch on his wrist as he whistles to the song, _Chillin' Like a Villain_. He stops whistling when he finally sees Lonnie. Instead of taking the stairs, she jumps off the railing with style and lands safely on the her feet.

"You wanted to do that, didn't you?" Jay guessed.

"Well, I just came off a sparring session with Chad and Tyrone. I guess the rush hasn't worn off," said Lonnie.

"Well, get ready to re-energize that rush, because we're about to soar," said Jay, gesturing to the carpet.

Lonnie couldn't help but notice the familiarity of the carpet's design.

"Chinese style?" Lonnie asked.

"Thought it remind you of home," said Jay.

"Aren't you thoughtful?" Lonnie complimented.

Jay smiled at her compliment. He then notices what Lonnie was wearing. She was wearing a knee-length blue and pink leather dress.

"You asked Evie, didn't you?" He guessed.

"I thought you like leather," said Lonnie.

"True." Jay didn't deny it. "You look great."

"Thank you," Lonnie blushed. "You don't look too bad yourself."

Jay was wearing the new Isle-of-the-Lost-style sleeveless jacket, the one he wore when he and his friends had to rescue Ben from Uma and her pirate crew.

"Well, gotta remember where I come from," said Jay. "You don't mind, do you?"

"No, I get it," said Lonnie. "The Isle is where you're from. You can't abandon who you really are just because you now live here in Auradon."

"Now you're really starting to understand us," said Jay. "Me and my friends, I meant."

"I just want to get to know you guys better, and make sure you feel like you belong here," said Lonnie. "The way your parents treated you, it's awful. I don't want you guys to feel that way here, not on my watch."

"We can look out for ourselves," said Jay.

"But friends look out for friends," said Lonnie.

"Can't argue with that," said Jay.

Jay puts his left arm behind his back, bows, and extends his right hand forward.

"Shall we, my lady?" He asked in gentleman-like fashion.

Lonnie smiles as she takes Jay's hand and steps on the carpet. She sits down as Jay did in front of her. He grabs the fringes on the carpet's two front corners. The carper slowly rises from the ground. Lonnie looks down and becomes even more excited to get started. Jay can see it on her face.

"Hold on," said Jay.

The carpet zooms up into the air. Lonnie puts her arms around Jay as the carpet flew up into the sky with great speed. She closes her eyes and feels the wind in her face as the carpet flew through a cloud. Jay slows the carpet down a bit and looks over his shoulder.

"Hey, open your eyes," said Jay.

Lonnie opened her eyes and gasped at the view. She can see Auradon Prep down below. She can see the flora and fauna all around. She can see the sunset over the horizon. She can see many different colors of clouds in the sky. Grey. Orange. Blue. It was truly a beautiful sight. Jay himself was also wowed by the view. He would never tell Lonnie but he has never flown this high before. Before now, he had only flown as high as fifty feet in the sky, not hundreds.

"What do you think?" asked Jay.

"It's wonderful," said Lonnie.

"Hold on tight. It's about to get better," said Jay.

Jay started doing tricks in the air. First, he rides through the skies like a roller coaster, tilting the carpet left and right and performing some loops along the way. Afterwards, he started flying downwards fast towards the water. Lonnie braces herself in case they were gonna crash. Jay pulls up before they the carpet makes a splash and glides above the water, creating tiny waves behind them, which Lonnie saw after she opened her eyes. Jay zooms up again. The stops at a 90-degree angle before making another loop.

Jay looked back and saw Lonnie with a big smile on her face. She was hyperventilating with joy. He was happy to see that she enjoyed it.

"Now I know how Princess Jasmine felt," said Lonnie.

"Don't tell me you're gonna start singing," Jay said.

" _A whole new world. A dazzling place I never knew,_ " Lonnie sang, laughing as well.

"You actually pretty good," said Jay.

"Your turn," said Lonnie.

"No way," said Jay.

"You've sang before," said Lonnie. "C'mon, Jay. You want this date to be great for both of us, right? Then sing."

Jay reluctantly sang.

 **Jay**

 _I can show you the world  
Shining, shimmering, splendid  
Tell me, princess, now when did  
You last let your heart decide?_"

 **Lonnie (Jay)**

 _A whole new world_  
 _(Don't you dare close your eyes)_  
 _A hundred thousand things to see_  
 _(Hold your breath, it gets better)_

 _I'm like a shooting star_  
 _I've come so far_  
 _I can't go back_  
 _To where I used to be_

 **Jay**

 _A whole new world_

 **Lonnie**

 _A whole new world_

 **Jay**

 _A thrilling chase_

 **Lonnie**

 _A wondrous place_

 **Jay/Lonnie**

 _For you and me_

Lonnie tightens her hug on Jay and rests her head on his shoulder, enjoying his company and the ride.

"See, that wasn't so bad," said Lonnie.

"I guess it wasn't," said Jay.

Jay decided to slow down and let the carpet soar through the sky on its own.

"Jay, I never did get to ask you before. Why did you ask me to dance with you at the Cotillion?" asked Lonnie. "Knowing you, you were probably planning to dance with every girl in school."

"I guess you can say that after you bravely volunteered to come with us to the Isle and save Ben, I started to see something special in you," said Jay.

"And what would that be?" Lonnie asked.

Jay shrugged his shoulders. "You're a cool girl."

"Okay, that's kinda cheesy," said Lonnie, chuckling. "But thank you."

"I asked you to the dance because, all of a sudden, I started feeling drawn to you," said Jay. "What about you? Why did you say yes?"

"Same reason. I felt drawn to you," said Lonnie. "You're an amazing guy, Jay. You're more than just looks and muscles. You have a good heart, not to mention you're really talented."

"I can say that same for you," said Jay. "I was surprised to see how well you could handle a sword."

"My mother is Mulan. She's taught me how to use sword since I was five," said Lonnie.

"Now, more and more girls want to fence, like you," said Jay. "Maybe we should set up an all-girls team next school year."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," said Lonnie. "I was gonna talk to Ben about, but I hesitated."

"If I know Ben, he'll make it official in a heartbeat," said Jay. "We'll talk to him together."

"Thanks, Jay," said Lonnie. "I just want to let you now that even if there will be an all-girls team next year, I'm still staying as captain of the men's team."

"For me?" Jay teased.

"Yes, for you," Lonnie teased.

* * *

Jay and Lonnie head back to Auradon Prep as soon as the sun set and the moon came out. Along the way, Lonnie took the time to admire the evening sky. She even searched for constellations within the stars. She saw stars forming the shape of a cobra. She points at it for Jay to see.

"It's like the universe knows tonight is our night," said Lonnie.

Jay nodded in agreement.

The carpet lands on the grassy lawn of the school. Jay and Lonnie step off the carpet. Jay picks up the carpet and rolls it up.

"Thank you for tonight, Jay," said Lonnie. "It was a lot of fun."

"In that case, are you interested in a second date?" asked Jay.

"Let's take it slow," said Lonnie. "We still have school and R.O.A.R., so there's very little room for us."

"Just give me the word and I'll unroll the carpet," said Jay.

"Just be sure I don't catch you looking at other girls," Lonnie warned.

"Hey, if I do, it'll only be because they looked at me first," said Jay.

Lonnie raises an eyebrow with skepticism, but smiles anyway.

 **I hope this was good. I tried my best.**

 **I would like to tell you that this is the last part of Jay's arc. I'm sorry. The rest of the chapters will be about Mal, Evie, and Carlos.**


	9. Mal: Lady of the Court, Part 3

**Carlos is nearly ready to present his gift to Jane. Evie's friendship with Dizzy is at stake. Jay's part of the story is over. Now, we return to the power couple of Descendants, Mal and Ben (or Bal). What will they find in Camelot? Read, enjoy, and find out.**

 **Leave a review after reading, please.**

 **I'd like to thank the following users for reviewing the previous chapter: DragonEmperor999, Wolf, Malice-Bree-1998, top story, chocolatesbello**

 ** _To Malice-Bree-1998_: I also ship Jay with Audrey, but I already wrote about them in my previous series. My new series is heavily influenced by Descendants 2, where many fans started to ship Jay and Lonnie, so I thought I'd try to take that direction. I would do Jaudrey again if I wanted to, but I wanted to try something new.**

 ** _To Wolf_: I, too, am looking forward to Evie and Carlos' stories. I always enjoy writing about them.**

A few hours have past since the royal limousine had left Auradon Prep. Mal had fallen asleep half an hour through the ride, and Ben closed his eyes not too long after. Mal's purple head was rested on Ben's shoulder, while the King's head was rested on top of his girlfriend's purple hair. Mal, however, wasn't sleeping as peacefully as Ben was. The dream about her and her friends feeding everyone poison apples flashed in her mind again.

Unable to sleep through the dream, Mal opens her eyes. She felt Ben's head resting on top of hers. She didn't move a muscle, not wanting to disturb the King's peaceful nap. She keeps leaning on her boyfriend's shoulder as she looks out the window. The sky was orange, which meant the sun was setting, which meant that she's been asleep for hours. She takes out her phone and checks the time. It was almost six o'clock, and they left the school around 12:30. This means that they were nearing Camelot.

Mal was suddenly beginning to feel nervous all over again. The minute they step foot on Camelot, she begins her mission of establishing peace between Camelot and Atlantica, which begins by finding out the truth behind the supposed attack by King Triton's troops and a giant octopus. Mal would've started hyperventilating if she didn't remember what her friends had told her before she left Auradon Prep.

Evie said, _"Remember, you're not alone."_

Jay said, _"You quit on this, you quit on Auradon. You quit on Auradon, you quit on Ben."_

Carlos said, _"The Mal I knew from the Isle is not afraid of anything."_

Mal begins to smile as the limo stops. The driver opens his window to tell the royal couple that they have arrived. Before he can say a word, he can see that King Ben was still asleep. Mal grins and waves at the driver, who ignores her.

"Still nasty, aren't you?" Mal muttered. She lifts her head from Ben's shoulder and shakes him, trying to wake him up. "Ben, wake up. We're here."

"Mom, I don't want to go to school," Ben muttered in his sleep.

Mal couldn't help but giggle, feeling amused. She playfully changes the angle of the crown on his head before shaking him again. This time, he wakes up.

"Are we there yet?" Ben asked, blinking awake.

"As a matter of fact, we are," said Mal.

"We're just outside the border of Camelot, your majesty," said the driver.

Mal and Ben exit the limo and see the carriage that they asked King Arthur to prepare for them when they arrive. Earlier that day, Ben had sent a dove to deliver a scroll containing a message to King Arthur, informing him that the King and his Lady of the Court are coming for a visit. Due to the time table, Mal and Ben had to use the royal limo instead of the royal carriage to travel to Camelot.

Mal takes out a $20 bill and gives it to the driver. She pats the top of his head before joining Ben. The driver shakes his head before driving back to Auradon. Ben had told him that he and Mal will ask Merlin for transportation should they need it.

Ben offers his hand and Mal takes it, allowing him to help her board the carriage. As soon as they were both on board, the coachman begins to ride towards the village.

"Was the tip necessary?" Ben asked, referring to the twenty dollars that Mal gave to the limo driver.

"Just because he's gonna be rude to me, doesn't mean I have to be rude to him," said Mal.

* * *

The carriage arrives in the village of Camelot. Mal and Ben can see that the village is still under repair from Atlantica's supposed attack.

As soon as Mal and Ben stepped foot off the medieval vehicle, the kids started crowding them, greeting them excitedly and offering them buckets of strawberries. Luckily, Merlin arrives at the scene, along with young Artie, son of Arthur. He stands in front of the royal couple and tries to ward off the crowd.

"Please, children. They are here on official business. Give them some space," said Merlin.

"But you can leave strawberries here," Mal said to the villagers.

Those who were carrying buckets full of the sweet, juicy fruit that Mal loved so much left said buckets next to the carriage. Mal picked up one strawberry and takes a bite. She then picks up a handful of strawberries and continues to eat. Ben smiled. Mal looked adorable when she was feasting on strawberries.

"These are delicious," Mal said, mouth full and all.

"There's plenty more in the castle, Lady Mal," said Merlin. "We figured you might get hungry after the long trip."

"Very thoughtful of you, and everyone else," said Mal.

Merlin approaches the King and shakes his hand. Artie gives Ben a hug, clearly happy to see him back in Camelot.

"In case you're wondering, the rest of the royal families have already arrived," said Merlin. "I am sad to inform you that Arthur still refuses to negotiate with King Triton. Stubborn, that boy is. I thought I raised him better."

"Well, it's good thing we're here then," said Ben.

"Uh, your majesty, your crown," said Merlin, pointing at the golden headpiece on the young king's head.

Ben touches his crown and realizes that it was in a crooked position. He immediately knew it was Mal who adjusted it, since she loved it when his crown was in an awkward position on his head.

Artie walks towards Mal, who was still eating strawberries. She was eating so fast, her face was covered with juices from the sweet fruit. Artie started to giggle. Mal notices the little squire's reaction and glares at him.

"What's so funny?" Mal asked.

"Um, nothing," Artie lied, intimidated by Mal's stare.

"Look, kid, you're cute, but you don't want to make me mad," Mal warned him. "I could just turn into a dragon and eat you up."

Artie puts his hands behind his back and slowly walks backwards with a petrified look on his face. Mal continues to look at him with an unamused look, until her lips curved into a smile and she started giggling. She lowers herself to the boy's height and playfully messes with his hair.

"I'm just joshing with you," said Mal, laughing.

Artie smiles nervously, still feeling a little scared.

"Lady Mal, I must insist you cease jesting about your ability to transform into a dragon," said Merlin worriedly. "Some of the grown-ups here are a little spooked by your presence simply because of it. Need I remind you of Madam Mim?"

"Relax, Merlin. If I ever turn into a dragon again, it'll only be to protect this kingdom," said Mal.

"So, you really believe there's a third man in the upcoming war?" asked Merlin.

"There won't be a war once I find out who the third player is," said Mal, feeling confident about her theory. "So, let's get down to business. Where was this _giant octopus_ seen?"

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

Merlin, using his magic wand as a source of light, leads Mal and Ben into the forest surrounding Camelot. A couple of birds stopped and stared at the girl in the purple dress. Mal decided to do what normal princesses do and allows them to land on her finger. She smiles at them before letting them continue their flight. Normally, Mal considered birds a nuisance, but after her visit to Charmington during the all-kingdom "Celebration of Auradon" and how nicely Snow White's animal friends treated her, she had a change of heart, more or less.

"Merlin, how many Atlantican soldiers were here that night?" Ben asked.

"According to the villagers, probably six or seven," answered Merlin.

"Interesting," said Mal thoughtfully. "If King Triton _did_ order an attack, and I'm not saying he did, why would he send only six or seven warriors here to Camelot? Sure, they supposedly had a giant octopus, but aren't there, like, twenty-five knights in the Knights of the Round Table?"

"Maybe this third player didn't think this through well enough," Ben guessed.

"If there _is_ a third player," said Merlin, clearly showing hard feelings towards King Triton and Atlantica.

Merlin stopped walking. Mal and Ben did so subsequently. They were currently in an open area in the forest.

"This is where Arthur and his men said they saw the giant tentacled beast," said Merlin.

"How about you return to the castle and calm down?" Ben suggested.

"Not a chance, your majesty. I want to get to the bottom of this as much you do," Merlin refused.

"Very well," Mal said. "Just be quiet and let me work."

"What exactly is it you intend to do?" Merlin asked.

"I said be quiet," said Mal.

Mal walks towards the very center of the open area. She closes her eyes and raises her hand. She breathes in and out as she attempts to concentrate. Ben and Merlin, meanwhile, watched with puzzlement.

"What is she doing?" asked Merlin.

"I don't know," said Ben.

Mal slowly walks around the field until she finally sensed something. She does a circular motion with her hand. Ben and Merlin can see a glow starting to light up around Mal's hand. They walk closer to take a good look.

"Is that...?" Ben knew what it was, but he had to ask anyway.

"Magic," said Merlin.

Mal opens her eyes and sees a faint yellow glow floating on the palm of her hand. She pulls back her arm to take a closer look at it.

"It's definitely magic," said Mal. "But not just any magic. Dark magic."

"Excuse me, did you say _dark_ magic?" asked Merlin.

"Yeah, I did," said Mal with light sarcasm.

"What does this mean?" asked Ben.

"It means that the possibility of a third player in this game is close to becoming no longer a possibility but a fact," said Mal.

"Who do you think it could be?" asked Merlin.

"I have a very good idea who," said Mal. "But first, I need to travel to Atlantica and have a talk with the warriors who were present in the attack, just to be sure."

"One question. How did you do that?" Merlin asked. "You just gathered remnants of magic out of the air. Even I could never do that."

"Ever since I turned into a dragon, I've felt more connected with my magic than I have ever been," said Mal. "I knew that magic was involved in this attack, so I thought that if I came here, I could figure out what kind of magic we're dealing with here."

"I thought you were done using magic," said Ben.

"I only use it when I need to, like now," said Mal.

"Well, it's certainly proven useful so far," said Ben.

"Shall I send you to Atlantica right away, your majesty?" asked Merlin, holding up his wand.

"Not yet," said Mal. "I need to speak with King Arthur first. If the royal families can't convince him to agree to negotiate, I'll convince him myself."

"And you're certain you can?" Merlin questioned.

"Friendly reminder. I got my own kind of persuasion," said Mal with a smirk.

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

In King Arthur's castle, King Arthur himself was currently sitting on the dining table, still speaking with Aladdin, Jasmine, Cinderella, King Charming, King Stefan, and Queen Leah. They have spent over an hour trying to talk him into negotiating with King Triton, but nothing they have said so far is working.

"What if it's just the two of you in one room? No witnesses," Aladdin suggested.

"Aladdin, I have grown tired of this conversation," said Arthur. "I'll talk with Triton on my own terms."

"Even if those terms ignite a war?" Cinderella questioned.

"It _is_ war, and Triton is the one who ignited it, not me," said Arthur, pounding his fist on the table.

The doors to the dining room open. Arthur and the royal couples see Mal, Ben, and Merlin entering. Ben and Merlin remain standing by the door while Mal approaches the king of Camelot.

"Lady Mal, I am pleased to see you again," Arthur greeted, bowing.

"Likewise," said Mal, bowing as well.

"Have you confirmed that Triton sent that giant sea creature after my kingdom?" asked Arthur.

"I cannot discuss that until tomorrow's negotiation," said Mal.

"He still won't agree to it," said Stefan.

"I can change that," said Mal.

"How?" asked Arthur. "What could you possibly say that the rest haven't already said?"

"I say that if you don't agree to try diplomacy, you only show your people that you're a coward," said Mal.

Everyone in the room was shocked by the Lady's choice of words. Ben once again felt the embarrassment he felt when Mal fell asleep during the meeting earlier that day.

"How dare you, young lady?" Arthur said, aggravated. "I am no coward."

"But you are," said Mal. "Hiding behind Camelot's defenses instead of dealing with the situation head-on, it's no act of bravery. Plus, I heard about what happened when you trespassed on Triton's Bay. Triton beat you silly. I'm guessing that makes you afraid of him."

"Mal, what are you doing?" Ben whispered loudly.

Mal raises her hand at Ben's direction, telling him not to interfere and let her handle it.

"Regardless whether Triton is responsible for the attack or not, choosing to go to war is a cowardly move," Mal continued. "You want to show the people that you're not afraid, right? Then you need to look at Triton in the eye instead of using your fellow knights as a shield. I intend to end this dispute and negotiation is the most sensible way to do so. Your repeated refusals are signs of cowardice. If you want to prove yourself a brave knight, you will meet up for a peace meeting with King Triton tomorrow morning."

Arthur's anger rises while Mal continues to smirk at him teasingly.

"Fine," said Arthur reluctantly. "I do see your point, Lady Mal."

"Thank you for your cooperation," said Mal politely.

Mal walks away from King Arthur and towards Ben and Merlin. She affectionately puts her arm around the King of Auradon as she faces the elderly wizard.

"Merlin, you may send us to Atlantica right now," said Mal.

Merlin had half of mind to lecture Mal about the way she spoke to the king, but chooses not to go down that path and does as she says. He waves his wand and summons a tornado around the royal couple. They magically disappear from the room.

As soon as the tornado disappeared, everyone in the dining room looked at each other with uncertainty.

"She's very persuasive, I'll give her that," said King Charming.

* * *

As soon as Mal and Ben arrived at Triton's Bay, they request for a talk with King Triton. He was currently speaking with Ariel and Eric by the shore. From the distance, they can tell that Triton was being just as stubborn as Arthur was about agreeing to a negotiation. Triton and his daughter ceased their bickering as soon as they saw the purple-haired future queen and the young king.

"King Ben, good to see you," Triton greeted. "I assume you're here about the claim of an attack on Camelot organized by me."

"Yes and no," said Ben. "Lady Mal here wishes to speak to your warriors. She seeks those who were present in the attack."

"Very well, but I assure you, I never sent them to Camelot," said Triton.

Triton summons every single Atlantican warrior to the surface. Mal closes her eyes and summons the glowing magical remnant she collected from Camelot. Seven of the warriors started glowing with the same color as the remnant. Mal opens her eyes to see who have been affected by the dark magic. One of them happens to be the Captain of the Atlantican Guard. Mal asks him and six of his fellow glowing men to come to land. Their tails turn into legs as they left the waters.

Mal asked Triton if she can speak with the captain and his men in private. He approved.

"What is happening, Lady Mal?" The captain asked, confused as to why he and his men are glowing.

"I'm the one who asks the questions here," said Mal. "Were you the ones who attacked Camelot?"

"That is absurd, Lady Mal," said the captain. "You cannot possibly believe this rumor that Atlantica is waging war against Camelot."

Mal examines the looks on his face as he answered. She considers herself as a living lie detector, being able to tell when someone was lying through speech pattern and facial expressions.

"You're not lying," Mal said. "But I know you were all there that night."

"How can you be certain?" asked the captain.

Mal responds with another question. "Three days ago, did you happen to see or hear anything unusual?"

The seven warriors think back to that night.

"Now that you mention it, I did hear a siren's song," said the Atlantican captain. "All of a sudden, I felt like I was losing my free will. When I finally came to my senses, I noticed that hours have past since I passed out. I couldn't remember what happened."

"Did all of you hear a siren's song?" Mal asked.

The rest of the Atlantican warriors shook their heads in response.

"Do you happen to remember any words from this song?" Mal asked.

The captain thinks hard, trying to remember what he heard. "Poor... unfortunate... souls."

"Uma," Mal growled.

"Uma?" Ben asked, surprised to hear the name.

"The giant octopus who attacked Camelot, it's her, alright," said Mal. "She must've used her mother's necklace to enchant her voice in order to control the minds of these warriors."

"This is good," said Ben. "Once we tell Arthur, the feud will end."

"But that would mean King Triton will have to agree to negotiate with Camelot's king," said Mal.

"Don't worry. I can handle that part," said Mal, smirking.

* * *

Mal used the same tactic she used on King Arthur to persuade King Triton into agreeing to a negotiation. Ariel and Eric were both astonished and disturbed by the villain kid's method of persuasion, but they were, nonetheless, satisfied with the result. Mal and Ben stayed in Ariel and Eric's castle for the night since the negotiation was taking place on Triton's Bay in the morning. Mal slept on the couch in the guest room while Ben slept on the bed.

Mal, however, couldn't sleep peacefully tonight. Tomorrow was the day she has to end the conflict between King Triton and King Arthur. She did, after all, place herself in charge of establishing peace between Atlantica and Camelot since Ben and the other royal families agreed that her choice of action is the best. Given how hostile Triton and Arthur have been to each other lately, she knew it wasn't going to be easy to convince them to make peace with each other once again. Consumed by her own anxiety, Mal gets off the couch and opens a window, hoping that staring at the beautiful, starry night sky would calm her nerves.

"Can't sleep?"

Startled, Mal turns around and sees Ben, who was wide awake and out of bed.

"Don't scare me like that again," said Mal with a scowl.

"Sorry," said Ben.

Ben stands next to Mal and looks at the bright full moon with her. He then turns to her and holds her hand, which causes her to look at him. Just looking at Ben's cute face was enough to make Mal smile. She leans on his shoulder and closes her eyes, letting her handsome boyfriend's presence calm her. Ben puts his arm around Mal and pulls her closer.

"You don't have to be afraid," said Ben.

"I'm not afraid," said Mal.

Knowing that Mal was lying, Ben gives her a look that his mom gave him once. When Ben was five, he accidentally broke a vase while playing in the castle. He tried to keep it a secret from his mother, but when she gave him _the_ look, he couldn't lie to her. Ben had hoped the look would convince Mal to be honest with him.

"Okay, fine. I am scared," Mal admitted.

"Of what?" asked Ben.

"Of letting you down," answered Mal. "Trying to talk two kings out of declaring war on each other, it's a big deal. A _really_ big deal. If I fail, I fail the kingdom. I fail the kingdom, I fail you. I don't want that to happen."

"You're not gonna fail me," Ben said positively.

"Sometimes, you have too much faith in me," said Mal.

"For the right reasons," said Ben. "Mal, we both know you're not the traditional Lady of the Court, but it's because of that I believe you can do this. I mean, look at what you've done so far. You knew the attack wasn't what it seemed, and you were right. You found proof to your theory, even if you had to use magic. You used your own way to convince King Arthur and King Triton to agree to negotiation. If you can do all that, tomorrow should be no problem for you."

"I'm amazed by how much you believe in me," said Mal.

"Again, for the right reasons," said Ben. "I know you can do this, Mal. Besides, you're not alone on this. I'll be right there by your side."

"I am lucky to have someone like you in my life," said Mal.

"I don't believe it's luck," said Ben.

"Let me guess. It's true love?" Mal guessed sarcastically.

"I think our first kiss confirms that," said Ben.

"I know," said Mal, laughing.

"You have nothing to be afraid of," said Ben.

"Because I'm not supposed to be afraid of anything," said Mal. "Carlos told me that."

"He's a good friend," said Ben.

"He's a _true_ friend," Mal added.

Mal and Ben decided to stay up all night together. Mal embraced Ben while they watched the stars twinkle in the beautiful night sky. All of a sudden, Mal was no longer feeling scared about the following day. All it took was staying close to her beastly king and remembering what her best friends told her. _How is a girl like me so lucky to be so loved_ , she wondered.

 **The concludes Part 3 of Mal's arc in this story. Can she prevent a war between Camelot and Atlantica? That will be answered in Part 4, which will be the final chapter of this story. The next two chapters will focus on ending Evie and Carlos' parts in this story. I hope you're as excited as I am.**


	10. Carlos: The Perfect Gift, Part 3

**You really wanna know what Carlos' anniversary gift to Jane is? Well, you'll finally get your answer in this chapter. I hope you like it. Enjoy.**

 **Leave a review after reading, please.**

 **I'd like to thank the following users who reviewed the previous chapter: Bal-Breelice09121994, TheGreatGodzilla, Wolf, DragonEmperor999**

 ** _To TheGreatGodzilla_: Uh, no. I think the answer was clearly given already.**

Every second that ticks by means another second closer to Carlos and Jane's first month anniversary dinner. While Jane was busy trying on the dress that Evie had left at her doorstep, Carlos was busy finishing his gift for her. He had asked little Dizzy for help because her talents would help hasten the process of completing his gift. They met up in Carlos' dorm to work on it, right after he bought her a new pair of glasses from E.Y.E. Optical.

Whatever Carlos' gift was, it involved jewelry, glue, and Dizzy's huge pair of scissors.

"Jane is going to love this," said Dizzy.

"We're only halfway done," said Carlos.

"I know, but I already she'll love it," said Dizzy excitedly.

Carlos smiles as he watches the 10-year-old girl work with a big smile on her face. It seemed like just a second ago, she was all sour and speaking ill about Evie because she forgot to meet with her. Now, she was the same Dizzy Tremaine he knew from the Isle. Making jewelry with no negative emotion within her. She was so full of joy not only because she's doing what she loves to do the most but because she's helping a friend make his girlfriend happy.

Dizzy notices Carlos looking at her with a smile of his own.

"Is something wrong?" Dizzy asked.

"Nothing. It's just that you look chipper," said Carlos.

"Only because I can't wait to see the look on Jane's face when she sees this," said Dizzy.

"You really think she'll love it?" asked Carlos.

"What girl wouldn't love it?" replied Dizzy.

"Thanks again for agreeing to help me. I really needed you," said Carlos.

"Isn't that what friends do here in Auradon? Help each other?" asked Dizzy.

"Then maybe you should let me help you with Evie," said Carlos. "You can't keep being mad at her for blowing you off."

"Three times," Dizzy reminded.

"Regardless, you two are like sisters and you shouldn't let her busy schedule get in the way of your friendship," said Carlos.

"I thought we were on the clock," said Dizzy, trying to escape the conversation.

"Dizzy," Carlos scolded. "I'm just trying to help you."

"You can help me _after_ your anniversary dinner with Jane," said Dizzy.

Carlos returns to working on his gift as it is clear that Dizzy doesn't want to talk about Evie. Thinking about Dizzy's feelings right now, he couldn't help but feel that he has felt that way in the past. Looking back to when he experienced this kind of pain and disappointment, he decides to share this story.

"You know, Dizzy, I know exactly how you feel," he said. "Back on the Isle, Evie and I, we were really close. We didn't care that we were villain kids. We always looked out for each other. We did a lot together. Almost every day, we just hang out in my secret lab. I would talk about the science of everything around us, while she just sits there acting stupid."

Carlos and Dizzy both giggled.

"But when we came here to Auradon, that all stopped," said Carlos sadly. "She and Mal grew closer. She met Doug. She started a fashion business. We still see each other, we just never hang out, just the two of us. Three months ago, I asked her to come with me to a science expo in Auradon City. She promised she would show up. When the day came, she did come, but with Doug. I watched them have fun all day and realized that she had forgotten all about me."

Dizzy puts her hand on top of Carlos' in an effort to comfort him, seeing the sorrow on his face while telling his story.

"But you still hold your friendship with her close, why?" asked Dizzy.

"By accepting that it's no longer just me and her," Carlos answered. "Evie has many people in her life now and she needs to make time for all of them, even if it affects some of her relationships, like hers with the two of us, in a seemingly negative fashion. That doesn't mean she's gonna stop valuing the people around her. She'll always be there for you, Dizzy. You just gotta find it in your heart to accept these changes, like I have."

Carlos' words circles around Dizzy's brain. She was no longer trying to not think about Evie. She was now hoping that she can forgive her for her bad attitude towards her.

* * *

It was time. The clock strikes eight, which mean it was time for Carlos and Jane's anniversary dinner. Fairy God Mother, aware of the occasion due to her daughter's non-stop babbling, was more than delighted to help her daughter prepare for the evening. When Jane asked her to come to her dorm to see how she looked in the new dress that Evie gave her, the headmistress did not hesitate to make sure her daughter looked beautiful for the night, not that she was never. The dress was the usual periwinkle blew like Jane's other clothes, but with a few Evie touches. A glittery lining on the skirt and a red

Fairy God Mother even walked with Jane to the pavilion outside the school, where the dinner was taking place, when the young girl was too nervous to proceed.

When they arrived, they were both in awe at the setup. There were candles everywhere, placed in glass containers to keep the wind from putting out the fire, lighting up the place. The table was filled with all sorts of pumpkin-flavored treats. Pumpkin pudding. Pumpkin soup. Pumpkin pie. Best of all, the white-haired tech prodigy himself was sitting right there, smiling at her.

"Bibbidi-Bobbidi!" Both Fairy God Mother and Jane exclaimed with shock and wonderment.

"Well, what do you think?" Carlos asked.

Jane didn't know what else to say. Her open mouth and the sparkle in her eyes pretty much say what she feels. Fairy God Mother asked Carlos to come over and stand next to Jane. She takes out her phone and takes a picture of the young couple.

"Have fun," said Fairy God Mother before leaving.

Carlos pulls up a chair for Jane to sit on. She dips her finger into the pudding and tastes it. It was obvious she likes it.

"I can't believe you made all this," said Jane.

"Well, being Cruella De Vil's personal servant helped me learn a few things. Cooking is definitely on of them," said Carlos.

Jane looks over Carlos' shoulder to see two familiar individuals in the distance. One of them is a little girl with glasses and wearing her hair in two pigtails. The other is a dog wearing a shirt with the same color scheme as Carlos' jackets.

"What's Dizzy and Dude doing here?" asked Jane.

"Dizzy is here to make sure neither Evie nor anyone else will interfere with our wonderful evening, while Dude just wanted to watch," Carlos answered.

Dizzy smiles and waves at Jane, who smiled and waved back.

"Don't worry. They promised they'll keep their distance," said Carlos.

"I can see that," said Jane.

"You look great tonight," said Carlos, eyeing her dress.

"Evie made it for me," said Jane.

"Of course she did," Carlos replied, not at all surprised. "Any reason why your mother walked in here with you?"

"I was really nervous that you wouldn't show up, so my mother offered to walk me here," said Jane. "I'm glad you remembered."

"I've been going nuts about tonight. How can I forget?" said Carlos.

The started digging in. Jane was truly enjoying the food. She loves pumpkins, so Carlos thought a pumpkin-themed dinner would be fitting for their anniversary. He himself doesn't mind pumpkin at all. Once he tried it, it didn't taste bad at all. Dizzy took some pictures with a big smile on her face. She was just eager for him to give her the gift already.

"So, how's the cheerleading team?" asked Carlos.

"About as lost as a rat in the maze," said Jane. "Audrey's been missing since Cotillion. Mother says she's still here in Auradon Prep, but we haven't seen her. Not in class. Not in cheerleading practice. Not anywhere."

"It's like she's a ghost," Carlos commented.

"Yeah," Jane agreed. "What about you? How's the shoulder?"

"100%," said Carlos, winding up said shoulder.

"How's your head?" asked Jane.

"Almost as clear as a crystal," said Carlos.

"Think you'll be ready for the R.O.A.R. match in three days?" asked Jane.

"As long as I stay away from swords and chemicals until Sunday," said Carlos.

As they continued to eat, Carlos stared at Jane. He wipes the pumpkin pudding off his lips as he prepared to say something big. He looks back at Dude and signals him to come. Dude grabs a small case with his mouth and walks towards his owner.

"Hey, Jane," Carlos called.

Jane swallows the pumpkin pie in her mouth before looking at Carlos. Dude drops the box next to Carlos' chair.

"Thanks, buddy," said Carlos, petting his dog.

Carlos picks up the case while Dude walks back to Dizzy. Carlos gives the case to Jane.

"Happy anniversary," said Carlos, smiling.

Jane opens the box and gasps at what she saw. It was a silver bracelet decorated with four differently-colored jewels. Red. Blue. Yellow. Green. But what stand out the most is the symbol that looks awfully like her mother's wand. Jane looks at Carlos with one tear of joy ready to come down her left eye.

"Do you like it?" asked Carlos.

"Like it, no," said Jane.

Carlos' smile drops, feeling as if he disappointed her.

"I love it," said Jane suddenly.

Carlos' smile returns as Jane picks up the bracelet and puts it on. Carlos holds her hand and looks at the beautiful piece of jewelry on her wrist.

"I didn't know you knew how to make jewelry," said Jane, surprised.

"I didn't do it by myself," said Carlos. "I had help from Dizzy."

Carlos and Jane both look at Dizzy again, who smiles and waves at them again. Carlos' smile was a thank you, while Jane's smile tells Dizzy that she thinks it's nice that she helped Carlos. Jane kept on smiling until, for some reason, she frowned.

"What's the matter?" Carlos asked.

"My gift sucks in comparison right now," said Jane. "You practically gave me a chest full of good, which makes mine look like garbage."

"I'll be the judge of that," said Carlos.

Jane slowly picks up her gift box and nervously gives it to Carlos. Her arms shook until Carlos grabbed the box from her hands. He unties the strings and opens the box. Inside it was a laptop.

"The L-Vorton 3PZ?" Carlos sounded surprised. "How did you know I wanted this?"

All Jane can say was a continuous "uh" without speaking an actual word.

"The only person I've talked to about this laptop was Jay, and that was last week," said Carlos with a suspicious look on his face. "I seem to recall you accidentally dropping your books

"Okay, yes, I was eavesdropping," Jane admitted, ashamed of herself. "I didn't know what to get you for our anniversary and I was losing my mind, so I... I've been following you to figure out what you want."

Carlos was surprised that Jane would do something so wrong. To think, he had once contemplated about doing the same thing.

"I know. I know. What I did was wrong," said Jane, looking away from her boyfriend. "I was just so caught up on trying to not disappoint you that I decided to stoop down to VK level. Go ahead. Say it. I'm a horrible person and a horrible girlfriend. I never should've stalked you just to get you the right gift. I never should have..."

Carlos interrupts Jane by holding her hand and pulling her up and off the chair, twirling her around like a boy would do to a girl while they're slow dancing.

"Jane, I love it," said Carlos.

"But I feel like such an idiot for the promise I made you keep," said Jane. "You gave me a gift that came from your heart. I gave you a gift that came from doing something wrong."

"No, I get it. You were mad at me for forgetting about our anniversary. I can't blame you for that," said Carlos. "Besides, the promise you made me keep, it taught me a lesson. All day, I've been treating this gift-giving thing like an exam. You know I'm no fan of failing. Then I learned that this isn't some kind of exam. It's a way of me showing how much I value _us_."

"Are you sure you love my gift?" asked Jane.

"I've been trying to make money for months to but this, and now I have it. The best part, the girl that I love gave it to me," said Carlos happily.

Jane became shocked once again as soon as she heard Carlos say the L word.

"I'm sorry. The girl you what?" She asked.

Carlos takes out his phone and turns on the bluetooth speaker placed not too far from the table. He starts playing a song. He holds both of Jane's hands and started dancing to the tune. Jane played along and tried to keep up, smiling nervously.

 _There's a shop down the street,  
Where they sell plastic rings,  
For a quarter a piece, I sweat it  
Yeah, I know it's cheap,  
Not like the gold in your dreams,  
But I hope that you wear it  
_

 _Yeah, the ink may stain my skin,  
And my jeans may all be ripped  
I'm not perfect, but I swear  
I'm perfect for you_

Jane was shocked to hear the voice that sang the song. It was Carlos' voice. She's heard him sing before, but she's never heard him sing solo. His voice sounded great. She kept on following Carlos' dance steps as the music started getting faster. He danced with so much energy and she tried so hard not to look silly.

 _And there's no guarantee,  
That this will be easy  
It's a miracle you need, believe me  
Yeah, I'm no angel, I'm just me,  
But I will love you endlessly  
Wings aren't what you need, you need me_

Carlos and Jane started dancing with harmony. He may have been dancing faster, but she was keeping up with some dance moves of her own. Being a cheerleader has helped her become a better dancer. They grab each other's hands and started spinning around, listening to the music and enjoying themselves. The night turned out to be _not_ a disaster, after all. Carlos gave Jane a gift that came from his heart. Jane gave Carlos something he's always wanted. They both loved their gifts, but not as much as they loved each other. They truly found the right partner in each other.

From the distance, Dizzy and Doug sat on the grass and watched the two have fun. Dizzy couldn't help but shake to the beat.

"Operation: Perfect Gift was a success," said Dude.

"I knew she'd love it," said Dizzy. "Carlos really has a way with girls."

"That's my man!" Dude felt proud of his owner.

The little girl and the dog hi-fived.

 **And so, that concludes Carlos' part in the story. I hope you loved it. Thinking about what Carlos would give to Jane wasn't really easy, and I hope the payoff was great. Let me know if you liked it. I would really appreciate it.**

 **On the next chapter, Evie's part of the story will come to a finish. Will she and Dizzy make up and be friends again?**

 **"Endlessly" by The Cab**


	11. Evie: Love and Friendship, Part 3

**Jay's date with Lonnie went well. Carlos gave Jane a gift that she loved. Now, it's time to read the final part of Evie's story. Prepare for some drama and, maybe, some cute moments. Enjoy.**

 **Leave a review after reading, please.**

 **I'd like to thank the following users for reviewing the previous chapter: Bal-Breelice09121994, DragonEmperor999, topstory, Roxy Silena Lightwood, Wolf**

It was nearly midnight and every student in Auradon Prep was in their dorms, either sleeping or staying up until midnight. There was one student, however, who was outside of the school past curfew. It was Evie, who was currently sitting on a wooden table underneath a tree, feeling the emotion her color represents. She stares at the moon and stars in the sky while drinking through a thermos full of strawberry cider, which belonged to Mal.

The reason for Evie's depression is that she feels that she's gonna lose Dizzy's friendship. She was supposed to be there for her, yet she repeatedly forgets to hang out with her every time they schedule a girl's night out because she was too busy spending time with Doug. She then begins to worry that if she focuses too much on spending time with Dizzy, she might end up ditching Doug as well, considering she just did yesterday.

Evie takes another sip of the cider when she hears a familiar voice call to her.

"You know, too much of that stuff can make you coo-coo, right?"

Evie turns her head and sees a familiar face standing by the tree. It was Carlos.

"Plus, aren't you worried that Mal's gonna be furious to find out someone drank all of her favorite cider?" Carlos added.

"There's plenty of strawberry cider to go around here in Auradon. I'm sure she won't mind," said Evie.

Evie drinks more cider until Carlos takes the thermos away from her.

"I think you've had enough," said Carlos as he sat down next to his blue-haired friend. "Besides, I don't think it's healthy for you to follow Mal's methods for coping with depression."

"Who says I'm depressed?" Evie smiled to hide her sorrow.

"I've been standing here for the past ten minutes. I can tell you're depressed," said Carlos.

Evie stops smiling and shows how she really feels.

"This is about Dizzy, right?" Carlos asked.

"She's mad at me," said Evie sadly.

"She's not mad. She's just disappointed," said Carlos.

"Mad. Disappointed. What's the difference?" Evie replied.

Carlos begins to explain the difference. "Well, _mad_ is simply being angry at someone, while _disappointed_ means..."

"I don't need clarification, Carlos," Evie interrupted.

Evie buries her face in her hands while Carlos hums the song he played for Jane during their anniversary dinner. After a while, Evie lifts her face, adjusts her hair, and faces her white-haired friend.

"So, how was dinner? Did Jane love what you gave her?" asked Evie, curious about how her friend's night went after she was forbidden to spy on it.

Carlos takes out his phone and shows Evie a picture of him and Jane each showing their anniversary gifts. Evie was definitely amazed the bracelet. The magic wand symbol was definitely a wonderful touch. The smile on Jane's face clearly tells her that she loved it. She looks at Carlos with a look that tells her that she's proud of him. He took her advice and it paid off.

"Did you tell her you love her?" asked Evie.

"I did," said Carlos.

"Did you share true love's first kiss?" asked Evie, eager to know.

"She was gonna kiss me. I wasn't ready yet," Carlos confessed, scratching the left size of his face. "But don't worry. She understood. She settled for a kiss on the cheek and we bid each other goodnight."

"At least one of us had a great night," said Evie, happy for Carlos but sad for herself.

"It's not midnight yet. If you let the clock strike 12 before you make things right with Dizzy, then your night _will_ be terrible," said Carlos.

"Well, what do you propose?" asked Evie. "She won't even talk to me."

"Actually, she _does_ want to talk to you," said Carlos.

Evie was surprised to hear this, looking at Carlos with eyes wide open.

"I talked to her," said Carlos.

"How did you get her to turn around?" asked Evie.

"Being someone who knows how she feels, I simply shared my story," said Carlos.

"What do you mean you know how she feels?" asked Evie.

"Remember the science expo?" Carlos said.

"I remember. I went with Doug, and we had a great time," said Evie, smiling as she remembered.

Carlos raised an eyebrow. Evie was confused why he was looking at her in a weird way. Suddenly, something popped up in her mind.

"Oh, my gosh! I was supposed to go with you," Evie remembered. "I am so sorry for that."

"Don't worry. No hard feelings," said Carlos. "I mean, I was mad at first, but then I let it go. I understand that you have to make room in your life for others. It can't just be you and me all the time."

"I can see why Dizzy would be moved," said Evie. "But why hasn't she talked to me yet?"

"She's afraid that _you_ don't want to talk to her," said Carlos. "She's ashamed of her attitude and she thinks you're gonna be angry at her."

"But she knows that I would never hurt her by any means," said Evie.

"You were one of the worst of the Isle of the Lost, remember? Don't forget that she still believes that even though you chose a new path, you're still the same girl from home," said Carlos. "Wasn't she afraid of you the first time you showed up at the salon?"

"Okay, you're right on that one," said Evie, remembering how scared young Dizzy was when she first saw her. Between sadistic vixens like Mal and psychopaths like Harry Hook robbing and/or making a mess in her salon any day of the week, she was quick to assume she would be just like them.

"I just came here to tell you that you no longer have to be afraid to talk to her. She's ready," said Carlos.

"But what am I supposed to say to her?" asked Evie. "I've made her a promise three times and I broke all of them. I don't think words will fix this."

"Words will help patch things between the two of you. Actions will help you two move forward, strengthen the friendship you have," said Carlos.

"When did you become so wise?" Evie asked, astonished by the tech prodigy's sudden wisdom.

"Living here in Auradon, it changes you," said Carlos.

"I'll talk to her then," said Evie. "You have any ideas on what I should say?"

"No, you handle that yourself," said Carlos. "I know you can do it. You two are like sisters, and sisters always find a way to remain sisters in the end."

Evie puts on a big smile, showing Carlos that his words have given her confidence and hope.

"Have I ever told you that you're a true friend?" Evie asked.

"Over and over and over again," said Carlos, feeling embarrassed by the compliment.

"Only because you are," said Evie.

"I'm sure many people in this world fit that description," said Carlos.

"No offense to Mal or Ben or Lonnie, but none of them do," said Evie, putting an arm around Carlos. "You wanna know why? Because no one in this world knows loyalty like you do. You apply it to both sides of the coin. You help the wicked stick to who they are. You help the good see the world outside rainbows and unicorns. You do it using both your big heart and big brain. I should know, because I am both good and wicked, and you've helped me more times than I can count."

"You make me sound like the best friend of best friends," said Carlos.

"You are," said Evie.

To Carlos' surprise, Evie plants a kiss on his cheek. The burning feeling in his face that he felt during their conversation about pillows returned.

"W-W-Was t-th-that necessary?" Carlos stuttered as he asked.

"Only because you're a true friend," said Evie.

"Are you ever gonna stop calling me that?" asked Carlos.

"Never," said Evie, smiling.

* * *

At Auradon Academy, the elementary counterpart of Auradon Prep, Dizzy Tremaine was asleep in bed, barely. She kept moving around, changing positions every five minutes. She may behave like a little princess, but she definitely did not sleep like a princess. As if her mind was not enough to keep her from sleeping peacefully tonight, a loud knocking on the door woke her up.

Dizzy puts on her new glasses and answers the door. Evie was right there, smiling and waving.

"Hi," she greeted.

"Hi," Dizzy greeted, rubbing her tired eyes. "You know it's almost midnight, right?"

"Yes, but I don't care," said Evie. "We need to talk."

"A-Are you sure we should talk tonight?" Dizzy asked nervously. "We can talk tomorrow."

Evie puts a hand on her hip and looks at Dizzy with a serious look on her face. Dizzy, intimidated, steps aside and allows Evie to enter her dorm. Evie felt bad scaring her, but she had to admit that it felt kinda good, which made her feel bad again.

Dizzy opens the lights, allowing Evie to see what's changed in Dizzy's room since the last time she visited. There were picture frames hung on the wall. There was one picture of her and Dizzy when she first came to Auradon. There was a picture of both of them with Mal, whose hair was covered in ice cream, courtesy of Dizzy's clumsiness. There was also a picture of Dizzy and Carlos in the chemistry lab. The next picture was of Dizzy and Jay in the Tourney field.

There was a table full of bracelets, necklaces, barrettes, and earrings, all designed by Dizzy's hand.

"These are beautiful," said Evie, holding up a earring with a blue gem on it.

"A lot of the girls think so," said Dizzy. "They sometimes ask me to make jewelry for them. They love it."

"Sounds like you have a business of your own here in Auradon," said Evie with a smile.

Evie opens the register and sees a lot of money inside. She was impressed by how much profit Dizzy's made in such a short time.

"You're not gonna take any of that, are you?" asked Dizzy.

Evie glares at Dizzy for thinking such a thing.

"I'm just kidding," Dizzy laughed.

Evie smiled, happy to see that Dizzy is back to her usual bubbly self. She sits down on Dizzy's bed and asks Dizzy to sit with her. The two exchanged awkward glances and a few chuckles before one of them spoke an actual word.

"I'm really sorry, Dizzy," said Evie. "I know that I haven't been a true friend to you since you came here and, honestly, I don't think I will ever be. But that doesn't mean I still don't want to be a good friend to you. I'm really, really trying. It's just..."

"You have too many people in your life to hang out with me all the time," Dizzy guessed.

"Carlos really got through to you, didn't he?" Evie asked.

"He understood what I was feeling, the feeling that I was losing you as a friend," said Dizzy.

"I guess I haven't been a good friend to him, either," said Evie sadly. She holds both of Dizzy's hands and says, "I can't just scrub Doug and my job off my life, you know that, right? That doesn't mean you're any less important to me. You're always gonna be a part of my life. Friends are forever and nothing in this world can change that. If it makes you feel a little better, our ice cream run last night made me forget about Doug."

"Is that why you blew me off today? To make it up to him?" asked Dizzy.

"Let's stop focusing on the past or we'll miss the future, as Fairy God Mother says," said Evie. "I'm gonna make it up to you, I promise."

Evie pulls Dizzy closer for a big sisterly hug. Dizzy puts her arms around Evie, hugging her as tightly as she can, tears of joy about to rain down her face.

"When do we start?" asked Dizzy.

A smirk appears on Evie's face. "You still want to go to Kids-at-Work playhouse, don't you?"

"But it's 11:37," said Dizzy, looking at her clock.

"We're VKs, Dizzy. In Auradon or not, we will always break the rules," said Evie. "You know what, why should it be only the two of us who get to have fun? What do you say we bring a few friends along?"

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

Carlos, Jay, and Dude were fast asleep in their dorm, until a knock on the door wakes up the dog.

"Hey, buddy. Someone's at the door," said Dude, trying to shake his owner awake. "Wake up!"

Carlos moaned and moved around, but he didn't wake up. Jay, on the other hand, couldn't sleep through the dog's yelling. He gets up from his bed and opens the door just to stop the knocking. He sees Evie and Dizzy, wide awake and smiling.

"What do you girls want?" asked Jay.

"How would you boys like to have a little fun?" Evie said.

* * *

Later that evening, Evie, Jay, Carlos, Dizzy, and Dude hijack the royal limousine and take it to Auradon City. The streets were quiet. The evening breeze sent leaves flying everywhere. All the buildings were closed down. This was certainly the perfect time for five mischievous villain kids to sneak into town and have some fun. Carlos parks the limo next to their destination. Kids-at-Work Playhouse.

Evie picks the lock with a hairpin so they can get inside. Carlos turns off the security cameras so no one will know that they committed breaking and entering. Jay finds the switch the turns on the power of the building.

"Well, what are we waiting? Let's have some wicked fun!" Evie shouted.

And so, the VKs enter the play area and started having some fun. Jay and Carlos played dodgeball with little plastic balls, showcasing their athletic skills as they dodged with style and threw balls with force. Evie and Dizzy, meanwhile, slid down the swirly slide together with Evie holding onto Dizzy from top to bottom.

"This is so much fun!" Dizzy said. "Thanks, Evie."

"You're welcome," said Evie.

The two hug each other, until Jay and Carlos started shooting balls at them using turrets on the second level. They split and ducked for cover. Evie makes it to the second level and sneaks up on Carlos, tackling him. However, they both rolled off the edge and fell into the ball pit on the ground level. Dizzy comes out of hiding and throws a ball at Jay, which clogs his open mouth. Dizzy makes her way to the second level and uses the turret, shooting balls at Jay, knocking him off the chair.

Evie digs herself out of the ball pit. Carlos' hands popped up from below and tried to push her. Apparently, she was sitting on him. She moves aside and lets Carlos resurface. He took a deep breath as if he just came from below the ocean. He looks at Evie and throws a ball at her. She retaliated, hitting him in the chest.

They look up and see Dizzy climbing up level by level, trying to run away from Jay, who was chasing her. She took the time to look down and wave at Evie, who waved back. Even from below, Evie can see how happy Dizzy was. The smile on her face was not going away anytime soon.

"Looks like you two are finally friends again," said Carlos.

"Thank you so much, Carlos," said Evie. "I could never ask for a better brother than you."

"Careful. You don't want Jay to hear you say that," Carlos teased.

Evie grabs Carlos and drags him deeper into the ball pit. They started wrestling as they tried to playfully bury one another. Dizzy had just come down through the swirly slide and watched them play around in the pit. She couldn't help but giggle. She knew that Evie and Carlos were the closest of friends back on the Isle of the Lost, but in Auradon, she's beginning truly see how close they really are. _Literally close_ , she laughed.

Dizzy had to run again when she heard Jay coming down from the slide.

 **Evie and Dizzy are best friends again! Yay! I hope this was great. Honestly, I loved writing the playhouse part the most.**

 **Only one more chapter to go, people. Before this story ends, we'll see how Mal will use her position as Lady of the Court to prevent a war. Can she do it?**


	12. Mal: Lady of the Court, Part 4

**Now that Evie, Jay, and Carlos' stories are finished, it's time to finish Mal's story, as well as the story itself.**

 **Leave a review after reading, please.**

 **I'd like to thank the following users for reviewing the previous chapter: DragonEmperor999, Lighting's Halo, Bal-Breelice09121994, **Tt. 09** **,** Guest ( _"Awww! Carlos is the best! Extra super story!"_ )**

It was the day. King Triton and King Arthur were about to engage in a negotiation considering Atlantica's supposed attack on Camelot that left half the village in need of serious repair and over three dozen citizens injured. Merlin had magically transported Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table to Triton's Bay, where the sea king himself was waiting by the shore with the Atlantican royal army.

King Ben, Lady Mal, King Eric, and Queen Ariel were also present for the negotiation. Ben, Ariel, and Eric were visibly nervous, while Mal was tossing a fresh red apple up and down with an expressionless look on her face. Ben didn't know if she was prepared or trying to contain her nervousness, but he had hoped she was ready to handle the situation in any way she can.

However, five minutes into the negotiation and the two kings were already engaged in a yelling match.

"Be reasonable, Arthur! An octopus the size of a castle? No such creature could be that large," said Triton.

"Then how do you explain your men's presence?" Arthur questioned.

"How many times must I repeat myself?!" Triton buries his face in his hand, enraged.

"Just confess and maybe I will consider settling this with words," said Arthur.

"I cannot confess what is not true!" Triton bellowed.

"My kingdom is half-reduced to rubble! My people are literally in pain! You're lucky no one was killed!" Arthur yelled.

"I have noting but sincere sympathy for your people, Arthur," said Triton.

"Do not try to distract me with lies, Triton!" Arthur interrupted.

As the two kings continue to yell at each other, Ben, Eric, and Ariel stood with embarrassed looks on their faces. They repeatedly attempt to speak, only for one of the kings to interrupt them by yelling. Mal, meanwhile, was nonchalantly eating her apple. Ben wasn't sure if she was enjoying the argument, eating her nervousness away, or both.

"Don't you think it's time to tell them?" asked Ben.

"Let them fight it out for a few more seconds," said Mal, acting disinterested.

Mal takes another bite of her apple and chews loudly, which makes Ben feel awkward. Ariel and Eric were randomly chatting about their next cruise. Triton and Arthur continue to shout at each other. No matter what Triton says, Arthur refuses to listen. Ben was beginning to feel angrier, but he couldn't allow himself to let it out. He tried to suppress his anger by taking deep breaths. However, Mal's noisy chewing, Ariel and Eric's chatter, and the booming argument between the two kings were not helping him to stay calm.

Ben was starting to shake and his face was beginning to show signs of anger. His hands curled into fists as he feels himself ready to explode. Unable to hold in his anger any longer, he lets it all out.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone stopped and looked at the King of Auradon, shocked by his sudden Beast-like outrage. Mal crunched the apple bite in her mouth before swallowing loudly.

"You two are supposed to be kings, yet here you are arguing like little children!" Ben yelled.

"King Ben..."

"Not one word, Triton!" Ben shouted. "The purpose of this meeting is to end the conflict between your kingdoms, but all you've done so far is light the match that will ignite the fires of war."

"Your majesty..."

"I'm not finished, Arthur!" Ben shouted again. "You two are the kings of your own kingdom, but I am the King of this nation! I will not just stand here and let you two wage war over a misunderstanding! Now, before Lady Mal here says her piece on the matter, I wish for you two to apologize. And please, be sincere."

Triton and Arthur glare at each other for a long time. Ariel and Eric braced themselves in case another yelling showdown begins.

"My apologies," said Arthur.

"Forgive me for my tone," said Triton.

Ariel and Eric sighed with relief.

"Good," said Ben. "Lady Mal, you may speak."

Mal takes one last bite of her apple. She then tosses the apple high in the air. Before it could land on her hand, she snaps her fingers, disintegrating the apple into ash, which scares everyone present at the bay. She pets Ben on the head before stepping forward.

Mal clears her throat before she speaks. "Hi, everyone."

Arthur and Triton smiled and waved awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to the villain kid's casual greeting.

"Now, I am aware that tensions are high and I'm pretty sure you two would rather throw your fists at each other's faces," said Mal.

Ben winced, trying to resist the urge to tell Mal to take it easy and try a more gentle approach. Even though he has told her and himself that he will support whatever she does, it still doesn't stop him from feeling embarrassed whenever she handles things her own, unusual way. He puts on a straight look on his face and keeps his back straight as he lets Mal do what she has to do. Regardless whether she makes the situation better or worse, he'll stand by her.

"But before we draw our swords and spears, I'd like to show you something," said Mal.

Mal holds up her hand and reveals a faint yellow glow of magic.

"This is a remnant of magic I found in Camelot," said Mal.

Arthur was about to speak, but Mal raises her finger, stopping him before he could utter a word. She then pokes the remnant. The captain of the Atlantican royal guard and six of his fellow warriors glowed. Triton and Arthur both gasped with shock at the sight of this. Arthur's surprised look turns into an angry look as he walked towards Triton. Mal walks in between the two kings and stops Arthur before he could shout at the sea king.

"Check your sword, Arthur," Mal said.

Arthur looked down to see that there was a faint glow emanating from his scabbard. He pulls out his sword, Excalibur, and is in shock to see that it, too, was glowing with the same color as the remnant the Lady Mal was holding.

"What is this sorcery?" Arthur was horrified and confused.

"Can I hold it?" Mal asked.

Arthur slowly gives his sword to the daughter of Maleficent. She holds the hilt with one hand and feels the blade with the other. Suddenly, she snaps the sword into two, which shocks everyone, especially Arthur.

"Lady Mal, how dare you?!" Arthur yelled.

"It's a forgery," said Mal.

Ben steps forward to take a look at the broken sword.

"How did you know?" asked Ben.

"When we were Camelot, I sensed that something within the castle was affected by the magic I found in the forest," said Mal. "While I was talking with Arthur, I felt a pull. It was his sword. The magical aura it emits matches the dark magic of the remnant."

"Dark magic?" Arthur asked.

Mal faces the captain of Atlantica's army and tells him to come forward. She summons the magical remnant again and sends it towards him. As soon as the glow hit the captain, his face becomes blank. Mal snaps her fingers in fronts of his eyes, but his expression didn't change. Everyone, except Ben, was beginning to feel uneasy seeing the new Lady of the Court use magic.

"Lady Mal, you are beginning to scare me," said Triton.

"Me too," said Arthur.

"Back on the Isle, I used to back up my threats with actions. That's exactly how I intend to prove to both of you that all this arguing is for nothing," said Mal.

"Lady Mal, may I say something?" asked Ariel.

"No, you may not," said Mal gruffly.

Ariel and Eric were taken back by Mal's rude tone. Ben walks towards Mal to speak with her, but she holds her hand up in front of his face, preventing him from speaking to her. The young king takes a few steps back and allows Mal to continue, even though he's afraid of what might happen next.

"Captain, give me your weapon," Mal ordered.

The captain, without hesitation, gave his spear to Mal. She observes it closely, admiring its golden structure and how sharp the point is. She even played with it by twirling it with his fingers, which causes everyone to step/swim back in case she loses control and one of them gets pierced with the weapon.

"Mal, I think they get your point," said Ben, worried that Mal's actions will only further scare the two kings.

"Not yet," said Mal.

Mal returns the spear to the captain. She then walks up to Sir Lancelot and kindly asks him for his shield.

"Captain, throw your weapon at this shield," Mal ordered.

Mal holds the shield up right in front of Arthur's face. The captain throws his spear and hits the shield with accuracy. Arthur staggers back with surprise as the pointy weapon made contact with the shield held in front of his eyes. Mal started laughing, finding amusement in Arthur's shock. She returns the shield to Lancelot as she buries her laughing face on Ben's shoulder. Ben lets out a fake laugh as he eyes his subjects with mortification all over his face.

"Your majesty, what exactly is Lady Mal's intent with all this foolishness?" asked Triton.

Before Ben can speak, Mal puts her finger on his lips.

"Clearly, you haven't been paying attention," Mal said to the sea king.

Mal frees the captain from the mind control spell, allowing him to move and speak freely. He appeared as if he had just woken up from a nap.

"What happened?" asked the captain.

Mal shows him the magical glow in her hand, which is enough for him to know what had happened to him.

"What exactly is the meaning of this?" Arthur was beginning to lose his temper and patience.

"The captain, here, and six of his men _did_ attack Camelot," said Mal. "But they were not sent by King Triton. They were sent by someone who used dark magic to influence their minds, controlling them like puppets."

"But who would do such a thing?" asked Eric.

"The captain told me that he heard a siren sing to him that night," said Mal. "He remembered hearing three specific words. Poor. Unfortunate. Souls."

Ariel tensed at the sound of those three familiar words.

"Ursula," she muttered.

"And since Ursula is currently trapped on the Isle of the Lost, there is only one other person who could possibly use that song to control Triton's warriors," said Mal.

"Uma." Eric realized, remembering the time Ursula had used Ariel's voice to bewitch him into falling in love with her.

"Ursula's daughter used my men to attack Camelot?" Triton's rage started to rise.

"You all saw on TV what happened at the Cotillion. I think it's obvious who the giant octopus was," said Mal.

Arthur and Triton both hanged their heads, feeling ashamed for shouting at each other. Their conflict was, indeed, all for nothing, as Mal said.

"This would mean that Uma had stolen Excalibur that night," Lancelot guessed.

"And replaced it with a phony forged from magic," Mal added. "But that's not all. Uma had stolen something from Atlantica's library, which happened to be guarded by the captain and the six men who were with him during that unfortunate evening."

"That would explain what happened to all our maps," said Triton.

"Maps of what?" Ben asked.

"Auradon's oceans," answered Triton.

"Whatever Uma wants with those maps, I don't know, but I think it's clear now that the attack on Camelot was just a distraction," said Mal.

"But if all she wanted to steal Excalibur and Triton's maps, why start a war? It's unnecessary." Arthur wondered.

"Knowing Uma, she's always over-the-top. She thinks what's unnecessary is fun," said Mal.

"But the point here is that Atlantica never wanted to wage war on Camelot," said Ben. "It's all been one big misunderstanding caused by a villain kid who sought to ignite conflict to hide her intentions."

Arthur and Triton looked at each other. They both felt sorry for the way they treated each other that past few days. The two kings shook hands as a sign of the end of their conflict. Everyone else smiled, happy to see that they were finally being nice to each other again.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's discuss this trade request I've heard about," said Mal. "Obviously, Uma saw Arthur's denial as a good reason to set up an attack on Camelot and frame Triton."

"Ursula's daughter being here in Auradon is exactly the reason I asked for this trade," said Triton.

"What exactly were you asking for Arthur?" Ben asked.

"Weapons powered by Merlin's magic, as a mean of defending ourselves should Uma attack my kingdom," said Triton. "I understand that magic is banned in Auradon, you majesty, but I assure you, we were going to seek for your approval. I just thought it would help if we got Arthur's approval first."

"Arthur, why did you deny the trade request?" asked Eric.

"Because I could not allow such magic to be used those who are not of Camelot," said Arthur. "Merlin's magic may be powerful, but it's dangerous in the wrong hands."

"You are aware that I wield something magical myself, Arthur," said Triton.

"That does not mean I can just hand you over such weapons," Arthur argued.

"That's enough!" Mal shouted, ending the argument between the two kings. "Let's all take deep breaths and discuss this like civilized people."

Everyone did as Mal said and took deep breaths, calming themselves down.

Mal walks towards Ben and whispers to him. "Your turn."

"No," said Ben softly. "I think you should take this."

"I already ended the conflict. This about settling a trade request," Mal continued to whisper.

"I know you can do it," said Ben.

"Ben, please. Just no," said Mal.

Ben raises his voice as he speaks to the two kings. "Lady Mal will be presenting her suggesting to settle this matter."

Mal punches Ben in the stomach hard, if not too hard, expressing her anger at him for putting her front and center on the issue of trade, which she has no idea of how to resolve. All eyes were on her so there was no backing out. She slowly takes a few steps forward with her hands behind her back. She covers her mouth as she thinks of a reasonable and not-stupid solution.

"Did Triton offer anything in return?" She asked.

"Yes, I offered Atlantica's finest weaponry," said Triton.

"I'm guessing King Arthur refused," said Mal.

"Atlantica's weaponry is modern, and you are all aware that I refuse to let Camelot be modernized," said Arthur.

Mal faces Triton with a small smile on her face. "Well, I know something else you can offer him. Assistance."

"On what?" asked Triton.

"Rebuilding Camelot," Mal answered. "As Arthur had previously said, or shouted, half of Camelot is rubble. It'll take forever to rebuild. Since the King of Camelot and the King of Auradon are more likely to reject the idea of letting Merlin use magic to rebuild the kingdom, I think it's best for you to provide help."

Triton scratches his beard, thinking about Mal's suggestion.

"I suppose I can do that," said Triton. "What do you say, Arthur? Will you accept Atlantica's assistance in exchange for the weapons?"

"I accept," said Arthur. He then faces King Ben. "And what of you, your majesty? Are you willing to give Merlin your permission to provide magical weapons for Atlantica?"

"More than, considering the circumstances," said Ben, nodding.

Mal smiles as she claps her hands together. "Okay, so are we done here? Is everyone friends again?"

Ben laughed silently. "Yes, Mal, I think we are done."

"Eager to leave, Lady Mal?" asked Eric.

"Yes, because I overslept and you all called me for this negotiation before I even had breakfast," said Mal. "Why did you think I brought an apple with me?"

Mal walks back to Ariel and Eric's castle to get something to eat.

"King Triton, it is essential that we find Uma. We have retrieve those maps and return Excalibur to its right owner," said Ben.

"I shall send my forces to scour the entire ocean. We will search every inch of it, if we have to," Triton promised.

"Thank you," Ben replied.

* * *

After Mal was finished eating her breakfast, she and Ben asked Merlin to magically transport them back to Beast Castle. Mal started biting on an apple that she snatched before they left Triton's Bay.

"I thought strawberries were your favorite," said Ben.

"Apples are like my second favorite," said Mal.

"What is it with villains and apples?" Ben wondered.

"We have a saying on the Isle of the Lost. Always be _rotten to the core_ ," Mal said, singing the last four words.

"I'm guessing you have a song for that," said Ben.

"Would you like to hear it?" Mal asked.

"Not really," said Ben.

"Well, I'll sing it anyway," said Mal. "Consider it as payback for making me handle that trade issue by myself."

"It was the least I can do after you purposely intended for me to go all Beast back there," said Ben.

Mal was a little surprised that he knew about her intention. The reason she was being lax at the start of the negotiation was because she wanted to see the argument between Arthur and Triton push Ben to the point of unleashing his Beastly fury. She admired that side of him and wished he'd show it more often. She got her wish, but she didn't expect him to catch her act.

"So, what do you think? Did I do good back there?" Mal asked.

"You did better than good. You stopped a war from happening and made Arthur an offer he couldn't refuse, finally settling the deal between him and Triton," said Ben, complimenting his girlfriend.

"I just thought of the best thing that came up in my head," said Mal, discrediting herself.

"From the way I see it, you followed your heart," said Ben. "Camelot is in a difficult situation right now, and you just provided them the help they need to hasten the rebuilding process."

Mal couldn't stop smiling. She didn't believe she really did a good job, but Ben believed she had. One of the reasons she loves him is because he always believed in her. No matter what, he always had faith in her. It helped her have faith in herself.

"Well, I could never have done this without your help," said Mal, smiling at her boyfriend. "I have been nervous from start to finish, but you were always there to keep me going."

"Everyone needs help, even the big, bad Mal from the Isle of the Lost," said Ben.

Mal elbows Ben on the side, feeling both offended and flattered by his words. Ben remained giggling, knowing that Mal wasn't completely aggravated by what he called her. He put his arm around her and pulls her closer. She didn't pull away and just rests her head on his shoulder.

"You can a big jerk sometimes," said Mal.

"Well, your friends did help me unlock my wicked side back on the Isle," said Ben.

"But I love you anyway, Beastly side and all," said Mal.

"And I love you, wicked side and all," said Ben.

The two stared into each other's eyes until they leaned in for a kiss. This was still a weird sensation for Mal, but she becomes even more used to it with every kiss they share. Ben never shied away from an opportunity to kiss his girlfriend. Ever since their first two kisses at the Cotillion, he knew she has no reason to retreat if he catches her off guard. She clearly loves it.

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

Mal headed back to her dorm to check on Evie. She was about to knock when she heard some voices inside. She presses her ear against the door and listens.

"Hurry up, will you?"

"I'm trying."

"Mal's gonna kill you if she finds out about this."

"Don't you think I know that?!"

"She won't really literally kill him, right?"

"Well..."

"Don't answer that question."

Mal decided to make her presence known and shouts. "Well, why don't I come in and see what mess you made in there?!"

The door opens slowly. Evie comes out from behind the door and shows herself, shooting a fake smile at her best friend. Mal had a hand on her hip and a dark look on her face, causing Evie to drop her fake smile. Mal walks in to see what was going on. Jay, Carlos, and Dude were in her dorm as well. Carlos appeared to be covering something on the wall with a pillow from her bed.

She approaches him and pushes him aside, seeing a splatter of red paint all over her "Long Live Evil" graffiti on the wall. She then glares at her friends, asking them who did it.

"Carlos did it!" Dude said.

Carlos face-palms in response again.

Mal looks down at the floor and sees what appeared to be little metal spheres similar to the paint bomb that Carlos tried to make for her back on the Isle. She faces Carlos with an expression on her face that looks like she wants to murder him. With every step she takes towards him, he takes a step backwards away from her. He stopped when his back hit the wall. He had nowhere to run.

"If you're gonna give me another scar, at least have the decency to leave it where it won't get cut during a R.O.A.R. match?" Carlos pleaded.

Mal's eyes glowed green as she walked closer and closer towards the son of Cruella De Vil. He closes his eyes to avoid witnessing his punishment. Suddenly, he felt two arms wrap around his neck and something pressed against his shoulder. He opens his eyes and sees Mal embracing him. Evie and Jay looked at the both of them with shock. Dude's eyes were covered by Evie because she didn't want the dog to see the horror.

"That was so _not_ what I was expecting," said Jay.

"I expected yelling and cutting, but this works," said Evie.

"What does he mean by _another_ scar?" Dude asked.

Carlos tried to break free from the hug, but Mal's grip was too strong. "Uh, Mal, care to explain why you're hugging me and not

"I love you guys so much," said Mal with a sweet tone in her voice.

Mal's response made Evie and Jay keep the confused looks they wearing.

"You love me for messing up your artwork?" Carlos questioned. "It was an accident, by the way, just so you know."

"Yeah, but did she care last time?" Jay said.

Mal lets go of Carlos and says, "I'm not that person anymore, so I do care. Besides, I can always repaint it. I don't mind."

Carlos laughs nervously as he looks at Mal's _creepy_ happy face.

"So, Mal, how did it go in Camelot?" Evie asked.

"Negotiation was a success. Arthur and Triton are _not_ going to war," Mal answered. "The best part, Ben was proud of me."

"That's our girl," said Jay, fist-bumping with Mal.

"I knew you could do it," said Evie, hugging her best friend.

"I couldn't have done without all of you," said Mal happily. "You guys are the best friends a girl from the Isle can ask for."

"Hey, we're from the Isle, too," said Evie. "We look out for each other to the end."

"What about you guys? Anything interesting happened while I was gone?" Mal asked.

"Well, Jane loved the gift I gave her," said Carlos.

"My date with Lonnie went well," said Jay.

"And we broke into a playhouse before midnight last night," said Evie.

"You did?" Mal raised an eyebrow.

Evie takes out her phone and shows Mal some of the pictures they took while they were at the playhouse last night. Mal giggled at photos of Jay and Carlos' funny battle faces while they were playing with the ball turrets. She was touched and amused by the pictures of Evie and Dizzy hugging and making funny faces and screaming while they were sliding down the slide. Mal laughed out loud at the pictures of Jay and Carlos fighting each other with bean bag chairs.

"Oh, you guys are so taking me there next time," said Mal.

"Maybe tonight," Carlos suggested.

"Do you guys ever think about how we got so lucky to have this life?" Mal asked.

"I wouldn't say we were lucky. I'd say we were blessed with an opportunity to change our lives," said Evie.

"We took it because we had each other," said Carlos.

"We're a team. We stick together no matter what," said Jay.

Mal smiled again. The three villain kids around her were a big reason she chose a different life than ruling Auradon with her mother. Back on the Isle, she only thought of them as members of her gang. Being in Auradon helped her see them as more than that. She saw them as friends. Friends she can trust. Friends she care about. Friends who she can lean on when she's feeling down. As time passed by, they were no longer her friends. They were her family. They've been through together through tough times and they showed each other time and time again that they're never gonna let each other down. She felt truly blessed to have them in her life.

"Mal," Carlos called, waving his hand in front of her eyes. "You space out again."

"Only because I'm thinking about how much you guys mean to me," said Mal with a smile.

"Does someone want a group hug?" Evie asked.

"No," said Mal.

"Too bad. You're getting one," said Evie.

Evie hugs Mal. Carlos hugs both girls as tight as he can. Jay was reluctant at first, but proceeded to join the group hug. Mal's arms were pinned to her hips because of the tightness from the hug, but she didn't mind. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

"Alright. Alright. Everyone out," said Mal, breaking herself free from the hug.

"Uh, this is my room too," said Evie.

"I need to talk to my mother alone," said Mal.

"Oh," Evie replied. "In that case, everyone out. Everyone out. You too, Dude. Out."

Evie ushered her friends and herself out of the dorm, allowing Mal to have some alone time with her mother.

Mal sits down on her bed and looks at the glass cage that houses her mother, Maleficent, who is just a tiny lizard now because of her. She was "sitting" on the small handmade sofa, looking up at her daughter, whose shadow blocked out the light from the cage.

"Hey, mom," Mal greeted. "I stopped a war today. I'm sure you'd be disappointed, but I'm kinda used to that now."

The lizard didn't do anything but stick its tongue out. Mal responds by sticking her tongue out as well.

"Oh, look!" Mal holds up her hand and creates a ball of fire. "I learned how to conjure fire without being a dragon. Don't tell anyone I've been practicing, though."

The lizard, once again, sticks it tongue out at her while remaining still.

Mal turns off the fire and drops her smile. "I've had this dream. I dream of it, like, every night. Me and my friends turning everyone wicked using poison apples, taking over the whole school, having fun, it's all so wonderful. I can't help but feel, though, that it's trying to tell me something. You'd probably say that it's trying to tell me that being evil is my destiny, but I think there's more to it than that. Any ideas?"

The lizard didn't move a muscle. It just stared at her.

"One of these days, you and I are gonna have a real conversation," said Mal. "Well, I guess I should leave you to your... whatever it is you do in there."

Mal stands up and looks into the mirror. She thinks about what has happened to her life and what might happen in the future. She creates another ball of fire in her hand and stares at it. She's always had a fascination with fire. She had a habit of setting things on fire back on the Isle. It relaxed and entertained her. It must come with being the mother of a villain who turns into a dragon, she thought.

 _"Even after the Royal Cotillion, I knew my story wasn't over. Uma's still out there, CJ is running around somewhere, and I have to prepare myself for the day I become the Queen of Auradon. I just didn't think I have to worry too much about what comes ahead. I mean, I have friends. I have family. I have Ben. I have everything that I could ever want. But there is this feeling that something bad is about to happen, and to be honest, it's scaring me. That dream, it's trying to tell me something, but what? I can feel myself slipping back to the past every time I see it. Am I really destined to be evil? Or is there something worse in store for me? You probably think I should tell my friends about this. I've thought about it and I've decided not to. I can't put them in harm's way for whatever might happen. That may be the wrong thing to do, but remember, there are so many ways to be wicked."_

Mal looks back at her reflection and notices her eyes glowing green.

 **That's the end of this story. Honestly, I'm surprised by how long this chapter was. I guess I was having too much fun writing it that I didn't know when to stop. I hope you had fun reading this. If you do leave a review, I want you to tell me...**

 **\- What did you think of Mal's story?**

 **\- What did you think of Evie's story?**

 **\- What did you think of Jay's story?**

 **\- What did you think of Carlos' story?**

 **I will be posting Part 2 of my series soon. Don't know when exactly, but it won't be long. I promise you, it's going to be bigger and better (at least I hope it will be). I hope you're as excited as I am.**


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